Theodore "Blue" Edwards (born October 31, 1965) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played ten seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). Edwards now coaches at his alma mater, Greene Central High School in Snow Hill, North Carolina.

Early life

Edwards' hometown was

Walstonburg, North Carolina Walstonburg is a town in Greene County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 193 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located north of Snow Hill, North Carolina, Snow Hill on North Carolina Highway 91. The town is part ...

. He attended Greene Central High School, in Snow Hill, North Carolina where he played on the basketball team.

College basketball career

From 1984 to 1986, Edwards played basketball at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina. In the late 1980s, he played for

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

. In 1988–89, Edwards scored 773 points, the most points in a single season for ECU. He also finished sixth in the nation in scoring. In 1987, Edwards was suspended from the season after being found guilty of breaking and entering. In 1994, Edwards became a member of the East Carolina University Athletics Hall of Fame.

NBA career

He was selected by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

with the 21st overall pick of the 1989 NBA draft out of

and was a member of the 1990 NBA All-Rookie 2nd team. He was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1992 and tied for scoring with Frank Brickowski for the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

during the 1992–93 season with 16.9 points per game (although at 16.85, Edwards' average was slightly lower than Brickowski's 16.89). Edwards was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies with the 26th selection in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, having been left unprotected by the

. He recorded the first triple-double in the history of the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

(also his first) on March 1, 1996, against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. In the Grizzlies' first season, he ranked fourth overall in points per game (12.7). Edwards won several games with last-second shots, including a game winning bucket against the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

that ended the Grizzlies' 23-game losing streak. The shot prevented the Grizzlies from tying the

record for most consecutive losses. He also hit a last-second game winning shot against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. He was also the only Grizzly to play and start all 82 games. Due to Edwards' dunking ability, he was invited to the 1990

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

in which he did not take part due to injury, and was replaced by David Benoit. However, he did take part in the 1991 event, placing 6th. Edwards wore number 30 throughout his career until he moved to the Miami Heat where he wore 32 as 30 was in use by Terry Porter. After his NBA career, Edwards played overseas.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 82 , , 49 , , 23.0 , , .507 , , .300 , , .719 , , 3.1 , , 1.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 8.9 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 62 , , 56 , , 26.0 , , .526 , , .250 , , .701 , , 3.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 9.3 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 81 , , 28.2 , , .522 , , .379 , , .774 , , 3.7 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 12.6 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 82 , , 81 , , 33.3 , , .512 , , .349 , , .790 , , 4.7 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.5 , , 16.9 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 64 , , 28.3 , , .478 , , .358 , , .799 , , 4.0 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 11.6 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 31 , , 7 , , 16.4 , , .426 , , .256 , , .896 , , 2.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 36 , , 0 , , 16.8 , , .495 , , .344 , , .762 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, 82 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 33.8 , , .419 , , .343 , , .755 , , 4.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 12.7 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 61 , , 12 , , 23.6 , , .397 , , .281 , , .817 , , 3.1 , , 1.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 20 , , 24.3 , , .439 , , .333 , , .837 , , 2.7 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, 24 , , 0 , , 11.8 , , .444 , , .400 , , .692 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 3.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 704 , , 452 , , 26.1 , , .475 , , .335 , , .779 , , 3.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 10.8

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .538 , , .333 , , .875 , , 3.6 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 9 , , 26.8 , , .481 , , .500 , , .800 , , 3.1 , , 1.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , 7 , , 22.1 , , .468 , , .200 , , .719 , , 3.2 , , 1.1 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , 1994-95 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 34 , , 16 , , 21.2 , , .473 , , .313 , , .767 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 7.8

Child custody issue

At the end of 2001, Edwards was involved in a highly publicized child custody case in Canada. While playing for the Vancouver Grizzlies in the spring of 1996, Edwards, who was married, started an affair with Canadian citizen Kimberly Van de Perre. He had at least two other affairs. During the affair with Kimberly, she became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy named Elijah, in June 1997. When Elijah was three months old, Ms. Van de Perre began proceedings for custody and child support, naming Edwards as the father of the child. Edwards responded initially by seeking joint custody and liberal access, but later changed his response to seek sole custody. After a lengthy trial that ran from the fall of 1998 to early 1999, the trial judge released his decision and awarded sole custody to the mother. Edwards was given considerable access — four one-week periods quarterly throughout the year, shared time at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

and on Elijah's birthday and additional access upon short notice when he was in

. Edwards appealed this decision. During the hearing at the

British Columbia Court of Appeal The British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) is the highest appellate court in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1910 following the 1907 Court of Appeal Act. Jurisdiction The ...

, the Court invited Mrs. Edwards to apply to be admitted as a party and to request joint custody of Elijah with her husband. Mrs. Edwards is also an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

. This new, joint application for custody was successful, and Elijah was placed in the custody of Edwards and his wife. The Court of Appeal's decision was stayed to allow the mother the opportunity to seek leave to appeal to the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

, with the result that Elijah remained primarily in his mother's care throughout these proceedings. In 2001 the Supreme Court of Canada restored the trial decision and awarded custody to Elijah's mother; the Court concluded that in this case there was no evidence introduced that race should be "an important consideration". After the Supreme Court affirmed that the mother should have sole custody, the father ceased visiting and paying child support. In 2009, the Canadian Television Network produced and aired a made-for-TV movie based on the custody battle story entitled "Playing for Keeps", which is released in the US under the title "What Color Is Love?".

References

*Van de Perre v. Edwards, 0012 S.C.R. 1014, 2001 SCC 60 *Van de Perre v. Edwards, 2004 CarswellBC 867 (BCSC)

External links

Blue Edwards NBA statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Blue 1965 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Boston Celtics players Dafnis B.C. players East Carolina Pirates men's basketball players Louisburg Hurricanes men's basketball players Miami Heat players Milwaukee Bucks players Olympiacos B.C. players People from Greene County, North Carolina Shooting guards Small forwards Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Vancouver Grizzlies expansion draft picks Vancouver Grizzlies players