NBA crew chief Bob Delaney wants to help Iraq veterans with PTSD

This NBA ref, who knows the combination to the hurt locker, helps Iraq veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
By Dave Scheiber, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, August 9, 2009
In the dangerous desert sands of northern Iraq, an NBA referee arrived in July on a mission that had nothing to do with officiating. But it did involve helping soldiers make the right calls for themselves — and keep order in their lives while immersed in the most difficult of circumstances.

• For veteran NBA crew chief Bob Delaney, 10 days of living with U.S. troops on the front lines of battle — offering them comfort and counsel about the hazards of posttraumatic stress disorder — was the latest step in a journey that began more than 30 years ago by the shadowy docks of northern Jersey.

• That is where Delaney was known as Bobby Covert, a young undercover agent for the New Jersey State Police who lived in the constant presence of the Genovese and Bruno crime families.

• The experience was life-changing at a fundamental level. But in its own way, so was the most recent one, supporting soldiers fighting a ruthless enemy on the outside — and teaching them to cope better with the demons that can arise within.

• Many of them don't understand or wish to acknowledge that enemy, one veiled in whispers and a stigma of shame. PTSD has risen to crisis levels in the military, with scores of American troops committing suicide each year, and more than a third of returning vets reporting mental health problems from the immense pressures of combat.

• Delaney knows a little bit about facing pressure.

• And, at his core, he knows the heavy toll it can take.
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