Oakland, CA – Golden State Warriors fan Mitchel Mathews was particularly excited after for in Game 1 of The Finals 2017 last night. Mr. Mathews was named “Designated Driver for the Season” for the Warriors and attended Game 1 as a grand prize winner of the “Responsibility Has Its Rewards” sweepstakes.
Veronica Bem was named “Designated Driver for the Season” for the Cleveland Cavaliers and will attend Game 3 of The Finals as the other grand prize winner of the sweepstakes. Both winners were randomly selected among all of the fans who pledged to be Good Sports – designated drivers at Warriors and Cavaliers home games. Designated drivers pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol and provide their friends and family with a safe ride home.
Throughout the season, the NBA, Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM) Coalition, Bud Light and NBA teams across the country have worked together to make more fans aware of the designated driver programs at NBA arenas, encourage responsible drinking, positive fan behavior and promote traffic safety. The success of those efforts is demonstrated by the fact that more than 65,000 adults pledged to be designated drivers during the 2016-2017 NBA season.
The top five NBA teams for designated drivers at the end of the 2016-2017 season are:
- Dallas Mavericks with 10,164 designated drivers
- Oklahoma City Thunder with 9,547 designated drivers
- Houston Rockets with 7,595 designated drivers
- Charlotte Hornets with 7,483 designated drivers
- Milwaukee Bucks with 5,070 designated drivers
The success of the ‘Responsibility Has Its Rewards’ campaign with the NBA this season is a direct result of the commitment from the league, the teams and all the campaign partners. Teamwork is what this campaign is all about. We are demonstrating that when everyone – including the fans – takes responsibility, everyone wins.<span class="su-quote-cite">Jill Pepper, Executive Director, TEAM Coalition</span>
TEAM Coalition
TEAM Coalition is an alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaires, stadium service providers, the beer industry, distillers, broadcasters, traffic safety experts and others working together to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports and entertainment facilities. TEAM Coalition members and supporters include the National Basketball Association, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, National Football League, National Hockey League, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Americrown, Aramark, Delaware North Sportservice, Legends, Spectra, Beer Institute, National Beer Wholesalers Association, Constellation Brands, HEINEKEN USA, MillerCoors, Brown-Forman, Live Nation, National Association of Broadcasters, Contemporary Services Corporation, International Association of Venue Managers, Stadium Managers Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information visit
TEAMCoalition.org or
FansDontLetFansDriveDrunk.org.
(Left to Right) Jerome Pickett, NBA Senior Vice President/Chief Security Officer; Jean Mathews, Guest of Winner; Mitch Mathews, Responsibility Has Its Rewards Sweepstakes Winner; Troy Faciane, Anheuser-Busch Bay Area Director of Sales and Marketing; Alex Ozenberger, TEAM Coalition Senior Event Manager
