Ken Meyerson, Tennis Agent (Roddick, Gonzo, etc) passed away at 47

[Fee]

Here is the article from Tennis.com ticker: http://tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=14852&zoneid=25

Roddick's agent Meyerson passes away at 47 Ticker - Thursday, October 20, 2011

Ken Meyerson, the longtime agent of Andy Roddick, passed away in his sleep Wednesday night. The 47-year-old was the apparent victim of a heart attack.

The ambitious Meyerson quickly climbed the ladder of success as an agent, signing Roddick, Justine Henin, Chris Evert, Gael Monfils and, recently, the Radwanska sisters. He spent time at various agencies and was most recently the president of the tennis division of the giant company Lagardère Unlimited, which has offices in the U.S., Paris and Singapore, and also represents other sports stars including the NBA’s John Wall and Dwight Howard, and the NFL’s Randy Moss. Meyerson was fluent in French, which helped him sign the likes of Henin and Monfils and also to ink a huge deal for Roddick with the French-based Lacoste.

Max Eisenbud, the agent of Maria Sharapova and Vice President of IMG Tennis told TENNIS.com: "I am in shock, he was a legend in the tennis industry, I can’t imagine being at a Grand Slam and not seeing him, I can’t imagine trying to sign a player and not have to compete against him. We competed hard against each other, but he was a fun guy who always made you smile. He loved his clients and fought really hard for them."

Meyerson brought his team over from the BEST agency to Lagardère in May 2009. "I’ve been amazed by the vision of Ken Meyerson and his team and by his drive as a manager," Lagardère chief Arnaud Lagardère said at the time.

Tom Ross, the president of TPR Advisers and the former agent of Lleyton Hewitt and current agent Michael Chang and Todd Martin said:

"It was no secret that we butted heads a few times over the years, especially in our younger days, but I grew to be genuinely fond of him," said Ross, who was a longtime Senior Vice President of Tennis at Octagon. "He was a character in our world, no doubt, but his devotion to clients earned my respect, and the long standing relationships he had with many of them speaks for itself."

Meyerson had become active on Twitter as of late and recently sent out congratulatory tweets to Agnieszka Radwanska, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic, the last one which appeared on Wednesday, October 19.

Roddick said on Twitter: "I love you and miss you. I will be forever grateful for your faith & loyalty, You will forever be my brother. As always 'thanks Meyerson.'"

Other players expressed sympathy on Twitter including Mardy Fish, John Isner, Somdev Devvarman, Mahesh Bhupathi, Tamira Paszek and Alla Kudryatseva.

Another one of Meyerson's clients, Chilean player Fernando Gonzalez tweeted: "We [going to really miss] Ken like he use to say 'wuuoooh love you baby.'"

 

[TheMagicianOfPrecision]

Sad to hear this. Scary stuff.

 

[hcb0804]

Sad to hear this. Scary stuff.

Indeed....that almost happened to me at around the same age. Luckily I was able to have a couple of stents put in and I'm still here 9 years later. Unfortunately Mr. Meyerson wasn't so lucky. Very sad.

 

[Fee]

The article at the link I posted above has been updated, Meyerson was 48 years old and is survived by two daughters and his wife.

 

[stringertom]

Indeed....that almost happened to me at around the same age. Luckily I was able to have a couple of stents put in and I'm still here 9 years later. Unfortunately Mr. Meyerson wasn't so lucky. Very sad.

Keep drinking the red vino and buy some Reservatrol, my friend. We need you around for more than 9 more!

 

[DRII]

Indeed....that almost happened to me at around the same age. Luckily I was able to have a couple of stents put in and I'm still here 9 years later. Unfortunately Mr. Meyerson wasn't so lucky. Very sad.

Whats the condition? Are there warning signs or factors?

47 is very young to die of a heart attack! Very tragic for his family, I'm sure.

 

[hcb0804]

Keep drinking the red vino and buy some Reservatrol, my friend. We need you around for more than 9 more!

Thanks, Tom! Believe me, I drink PLENTY of red vino!

 

[hcb0804]

Whats the condition? Are there warning signs or factors?

47 is very young to die of a heart attack! Very tragic for his family, I'm sure.

High cholesterol which leads to the build-up of plaque in the arteries causing blockages....and yes most people do have signs that they unfortunately ignore. I did not ignore the warning signs, but the GP I was (notice I said WAS) seeing kept telling me it was my stomach. I could have died on a couple of different occasions, but luckily finally found a doc in the emergency room that knew what the hell was going on.

 

[r2473]

"Everyone loves my Schweddy balls" - Pete Schweddy

Have you tried the Ben & Jerry's ice cream?

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index...._jerrys_popular_baldwin_despite_protests.html

 

[hcb0804]

Have you tried the Ben & Jerry's ice cream?

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index...._jerrys_popular_baldwin_despite_protests.html

No, can't find any around here...

 

[stringertom]

Thanks, Tom! Believe me, I drink PLENTY of red vino!

Google Andrew Lessman Reservatrol...he makes a capsule full of the active ingredient in red wines that reduces plaque buildup...all the pluses of the vin rouge w/o the cost and wacky side effects.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Whats the condition? Are there warning signs or factors?

47 is very young to die of a heart attack! Very tragic for his family, I'm sure.

Some people have a genetic predisposition to have high cholesterol. Their livers simply produce more cholesterol than usual. Additionally, genetics also determines the area of your arteries. People with narrower arteries are more likely to suffer from coronary heart disease.

 

[stringertom]

Whats the condition? Are there warning signs or factors?

47 is very young to die of a heart attack! Very tragic for his family, I'm sure.

Dying in your sleep can also result from sleep apnea. That condition leads to cardiac arrest, the preliminary cause of death in this case. We probably should let the coroner do his work before speculating any further. Meanwhile, eating sensibly, exercising regularly and monitoring cholesterol levels are all "insurance" versus heart issues.

 

[Bjorn99]

Hey, its a good way to go. Better than dying of cancer, which everyone else is dying from because of being implanted with it via vaccinations on a nano basis. Here is Bill Gates admitting it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WQtRI7A064 wATCH from the two minute mark, its shocking but its something I knew the moment they threw a needle into me.

 

[ollinger]

Sleep apnea??!! Extremely unlikely to cause death in one's sleep. Heart attack certainly possible (pulse rate and BP increase during REM sleep, putting more stress on the heart) but pathologists believe pulmonary embolus may be the most common reason people die unexpectedly in their sleep.

 

[vernonbc]

Sleep apnea??!! Extremely unlikely to cause death in one's sleep. Heart attack certainly possible (pulse rate and BP increase during REM sleep, putting more stress on the heart) but pathologists believe pulmonary embolus may be the most common reason people die unexpectedly in their sleep.

Yes, sleep apnea. It is a major contributor to heart attacks, but not for the reason you guessed at. Sleep apnea sufferers get very little REM sleep because they stop breathing every few minutes or so and thus don't have a chance to get deep into the sleep cycle.

Statistically, many people who have heart attacks suffer from sleep apnea. It's also true that many people who have sleep apnea are overweight and not in very good physical condition. It's all inter-related but research has shown that those who are fitted with a CPAP machine to remedy the apnea have a reduced rate of heart disease.

 

[ollinger]

I know of a hugely obese guy who went into cardiac arrest during a sleep study in a hospital sleep lab. A cardiac arrest team came and attempted to resuscitate him. While doing this they apparently said things like "how are we going to move this fat f---" and "man, what a whale!" The family retained an attorney who obtained the sleep labs video monitoring, which happened to be on during the failed resuscitation effort. There was no malpractice committed during the resuscitation but they sued for the verbal abuse of this unconscious man. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum before trial.

 

[sureshs]

Hey, its a good way to go. Better than dying of cancer, which everyone else is dying from because of being implanted with it via vaccinations on a nano basis. Here is Bill Gates admitting it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WQtRI7A064 wATCH from the two minute mark, its shocking but its something I knew the moment they threw a needle into me.

Good. Better you die of cancer than you spreading some deadly disease without vaccination and killing me.

 

[Bjorn99]

Wow, you listened to Bill admit that vaccinations are there to kill you, and you think that implanting yourself with one is going to stop someone from infecting someone else. You are MORE likely to spread something because you NOW have it in you.

But I guess, to kill a couple of billion people off, Bill needs people like you to swallow their illogical propoganda. Wow. Didn't think a tennis fan would be that dumb, just football and car racing fans.

 

[DRII]

Wow, you listened to Bill admit that vaccinations are there to kill you, and you think that implanting yourself with one is going to stop someone from infecting someone else. You are MORE likely to spread something because you NOW have it in you.

But I guess, to kill a couple of billion people off, Bill needs people like you to swallow their illogical propoganda. Wow. Didn't think a tennis fan would be that dumb, just football and car racing fans.

I think Gates was probably commenting (in his very esoteric way) on the fact that in the poorest nations children are considered assets in an economic sense, while in the richer nations one's offspring are considered more economic liabilities. This is part of the reason why poorer nations have much higher birth rates. So I think he mentioned vaccines as apart of the methods of development that will raise quality of life around the world and thus decrease birth rates ultimately; the whole quality vs quantity argument relative to the overall human population on earth.

At least thats what i think, giving him the benefit of the doubt analysis. But, trust me, I'm not incredibly naive (at least I hope not). I'm pretty sure there are those out there, particularly some of the ones who own and control the vast majority of capital in the world, who have malicious motives. No doubt! But, I don't think they are stupid enough to say their plans out loud.

 

[DRII]

High cholesterol which leads to the build-up of plaque in the arteries causing blockages....and yes most people do have signs that they unfortunately ignore. I did not ignore the warning signs, but the GP I was (notice I said WAS) seeing kept telling me it was my stomach. I could have died on a couple of different occasions, but luckily finally found a doc in the emergency room that knew what the hell was going on.

Congratulations! I'm glad you received the help you needed...

 

[Bjorn99]

I think Gates was probably commenting (in his very esoteric way) on the fact that in the poorest nations children are considered assets in an economic sense, while in the richer nations one's offspring are considered more economic liabilities. This is part of the reason why poorer nations have much higher birth rates. So I think he mentioned vaccines as apart of the methods of development that will raise quality of life around the world and thus decrease birth rates ultimately; the whole quality vs quantity argument relative to the overall human population on earth.

At least thats what i think, giving him the benefit of the doubt analysis. But, trust me, I'm not incredibly naive (at least I hope not). I'm pretty sure there are those out there, particularly some of the ones who own and control the vast majority of capital in the world, who have malicious motives. No doubt! But, I don't think they are stupid enough to say their plans out loud.

I appreciate your intelligent response. No cameras were allowed in that particular conference. Security missed buddy with his HD camera obviously. Bill Gates is well known to certain heroes who have attempted to bring solutions to third world countries as one of their greatest foes. He screwed up there, and many are surprised to see that video still on youtube. One of the greatest foibles of all time that has remained on youtube. Most are taken down pretty quickly.

 

[woodrow1029]

That's sad. He was a very recognizable person on tour.

 

[nereis]

Here is the logical process Bill Gates undertook. Vaccination of children leads to drastically reduced rates of infant mortality, all else being equal. Reduced rates of infant mortality result in higher life expectancy for children, a good thing in any case. Higher life expectancy for children also leads to an increased economic cost associated with having children. This results in parents having less children but investing more time and effort into raising them. This investment pays off in higher productivity and increased competitiveness per capita (human capital) and will raise the standard of living in that country through economic growth.

 

[sureshs]

Wow, you listened to Bill admit that vaccinations are there to kill you, and you think that implanting yourself with one is going to stop someone from infecting someone else. You are MORE likely to spread something because you NOW have it in you.

But I guess, to kill a couple of billion people off, Bill needs people like you to swallow their illogical propoganda. Wow. Didn't think a tennis fan would be that dumb, just football and car racing fans.

Yeah, I know you are brighter than Bill and most of the doctors and public health officials in the world. Having seen first-hand what diseases like polio and smallpox can do, I would rather believe in them.

 

[Fee]

I appreciate your intelligent response. No cameras were allowed in that particular conference. Security missed buddy with his HD camera obviously. Bill Gates is well known to certain heroes who have attempted to bring solutions to third world countries as one of their greatest foes. He screwed up there, and many are surprised to see that video still on youtube. One of the greatest foibles of all time that has remained on youtube. Most are taken down pretty quickly.

Such a lie. That Bill Gates speech that you keep linking to was a TED speech and it is available on their website at http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates.html, I'm watching it right now.

There is absolutely nothing scandalous about it and Bill Gates never, ever says that vaccines are designed to kill people. He mentions improved health care as a means to decrease the rate of population growth, and he is exactly right. People in 3rd world countries have lots of children to increase the chances that at least one of them will survive long enough to take care of the parents in old age. With improved health care, families will only have 2 - 4 children, thus decreasing population growth.


To get back to the original topic of this thread, a message from Tommy Haas via his FB page:

Hey fans, it is a very sad day today in the tennis world. Ken Meyerson has passed away. He was so devoted to the sport of tennis and one of the biggest fans. He was one of the most respected agents out there working with a lot of the mens and women's top players. I had the privilege to work with Ken but ended our relationship during the tournament in Washington D.C. this year. We had such a good, friendly conversation and I really can't believe that he is gone. My condolences goes out to his family. Tommy

 

[rommil]

Roddick has been holding back emotions since the announcement of his retirement but when Darren Cahill asked Roddick about Meyerson, that's when Andy actually teared, but opted not to talk too much about him.