CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert remains hospitalized and is “resting comfortably” after suffering a stroke.
The 57-year-old was taken to a Detroit-area hospital Sunday by a friend after not feeling well, and he had the stroke while getting medical care, Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner said in a statement Monday night.
Farner said Gilbert was immediately taken for a catheter-based procedure and then moved to recovery in an intensive care unit.
“Dan is awake, responsive and resting comfortably,” Farner said. “Dan and his family are immensely grateful to the doctors and nurses whose early intervention is already paying dividends toward his recovery.”
Gilbert, who has owned the Cavs since 2005, founded Quicken Loans, the nation’s largest online mortgage lender. Farner said the company will update the public as additional details become known.
Gilbert has numerous business ventures in Michigan and Ohio, and Farner said those companies will continue to operate during his absence.
“Thanks to the strong culture and leadership Dan has built and grown, business at the Rock Family of Companies will continue under the normal, everyday direction of their respective CEOs,” Farner said.
A father of five, Gilbert has built a business empire while leading economic revivals in downtown Detroit and Cleveland.
Last week, Gilbert introduced new Cavs coach John Beilein during a news conference at the team’s training facility in Independence, Ohio.
The Cavs have gone to five NBA Finals under Gilbert, who is the first Cleveland owner to win a major sports championship since 1964. He can be brash and impulsive, but Gilbert has been willing to spend — and pay exorbitant luxury tax penalties — to keep the Cavs competitive.
He fired coach Tyronn Lue after six games last season, and then parted ways with Larry Drew following a 19-63 season before hiring Beilein, the winningest coach in Michigan history.
