DETROIT, MI -- Detroit Red Wings and Tigers owner Mike Ilitch paid respect to civil rights icon Rosa Parks with his wallet for more than a decade when she lived in Detroit.

Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal reports Ilitch paid for Parks' housing from Nov. 1 1994 until her 2005 death at the age of 92.

Parks reportedly moved to Riverfront Towers Apartments, adjacent to Joe Louis Arena, after she was robbed and assaulted Aug. 13, 1994 in her Detroit home.

The Sports Business Journal story online mentions that Judge Damon Keith has a framed copy of the $2,000 check Ilitch's company - LIttle Caesars Enterprises - gave Parks to pay for her first month's rent.

"It’s important that people know what Mr. Mike Ilitch did for Ms. Rosa Parks because it’s symbolic of what he has always done for the people of our city,” Keith told the website.

Ilitch is profiled by the website as a pioneer and innovator in sports business.

Ilitch told the website he looks at himself and his hometown of Detroit "as one."