Indianapolis Colts receiver Pierre Garcon and other US athletes with family in Haiti watched and worried in the wake of the earthquake that has devastated their ancestral homeland.
"Aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews. We still have not heard much from them and my mom is still trying to call them," said Garcon, who was born in the United States to parents who emigrated from the Caribbean nation.
"I'm keeping in contact with my mom. It's tough to get in touch with people down there because of the phone lines."
Garcon wasn't the only US athlete waiting anxiously for news of family members in Haiti, and their teams and teammates offered both moral and financial support to the rescue and relief efforts.
Andre Berto, the Miami-born World Boxing Council welterweight world champion whose parents are from Haiti, said relatives have perished, while some others remain unaccounted for.
"Like many other Haitian-Americans, my family and I are working to reach my loved ones," said Berto, who fought for Haiti at the Athens Olympics.
"From what we have learned to this point, some of my family members are still missing, and we have already been informed that members of my family have passed away in the earthquake."
An anxious Samuel Dalembert, a center with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers who grew up in Haiti, told ESPN.com he had been able to contact his father, but was still trying to get in touch with other relatives.
"I can only imagine what people there are going through," he said.
"It's really killing me right now.... It's unthinkable. Imagine all the people just inside, and the building just collapses."
The 76ers planned a moment of silence and the organization will assemble funds to donate to relief efforts, team spokesman Mike Preston said.
"It's kind of hard to fathom a situation like this because those people didn't do anything wrong," Dalembert said. "It's so hard to watch the TV. I feel helpless."
Stanley Arnoux, a rookie linebacker with the NFL's New Orleans Saints, worried about his seven-year-old half-sister Esmeralda Arnoux and five-year-old half-brother Pascal Arnoux, who both live in Haiti.
"I've just been trying to gain as much information through TV and the Internet, but as far as like, family, no one's able to contact them," Arnoux said.
Garcon has received support from Colts teammates Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne, both New Orleans natives who were in Indianapolis when Hurricane Katrina hit.
Wayne said his experience with Katrina gave him an understanding of how hard it is to watch from afar when such a disaster strikes loved ones.
"There's no communication going on, which is sort of the same situation I had with Katrina," Wayne said. "We had no communication with family members."
The US sports community was responding to the crisis.
The World Series champion New York Yankees announced they are donating 500,000 dollars in aid to Haiti.
"The Yankees hope their donation will inspire people throughout the United States to do everything they can to aid the people of Haiti in their time of need," the team said in a statement.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation pledged 250,000 dollars to relief efforts, and the seven-time Tour de France winner posted a video message on his website from Australia, where he is preparing for the Tour of Australia.
Copyright 2010  AFP American Edition
