Building Bridges

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This February, the Los Angeles Lakers held their annual month-long Building Bridges with Basketball program. This program serves as an opportunity for members of the Los Angeles Police Department and underserved youth from local community organizations to engage in conversations around dynamic topics.&nbsp;Using the sport as a bridge for these discussions, the goal is to break down barriers and build positive, lasting connections that last beyond each event and permeate the community. This year, the Lakers welcomed community participants from Project Blue, Game Changer, and Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC).

To Kick off this program, the Lakers hosted all participating community organizations and the LAPD for a gathering at the South Bay Lakers Black History Month game against G League Ignite on February 4th. &nbsp;Participants were able to take photos on the court during half-time and enjoy the nights exciting game.

On February 7th the Lakers hosted all participating groups for a pre-game reception at Kai’s Table. During the reception an inspirational speech was given by Sean Sheppard, founder of Game Changers. &nbsp;Following the reception, all guests were able to walk across the street to Crypto.com Arena to attend the Los Angeles Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder game where LeBron James broke the all-time scoring record.

The Lakers continued Building Bridges with Basketball with two meetings hosted at the UCLA Health Training Center focused on thought-provoking and stimulating dialogues moderated by Sean Sheppard followed by a basketball clinic. During these meetings, participants held constructive conversations surrounding topics of accountability, respect, trust, integrity, awareness, and relationship building. During these dialogues they also heard from Laker Legends, AC Green and Robert Horry. Participants were able to further bond over their passion of basketball with a clinic including the NBA draft combine test and intermixed friendly and competitive 5-on-5 games.

building-bridges-with-basketball-march-2023

Building Bridges with Basketball - March 2023

To finish off the program, participants were able to witness an exciting win against the Golden State Warriors. Building Bridges with Basketball provided a safe space for all parties to openly discuss and overcome biases and roadblocks. Each conversation discussed topics like trust, implicit bias, and integrity. Contributors to the conversations offered both opinions and solutions for current issues, as well as sharing their own personal experiences either as members of the community or as police officers. A common thing amongst all discussions: communication and intentional relationships amongst community members and officers must continue to continue to bridge groups together and create a stronger community.

Building Bridges with Basketball

The Los Angeles Lakers held their annual month-long Building Bridges with Basketball program

photos-building-bridges-with-basketball-march-2023

Photos: Building Bridges with Basketball

lalswong

This February, the Los Angeles Lakers returned with the 2022 installment of Building Bridges with Basketball. This program serves as an opportunity for members of the Los Angeles Police Department and at-risk youth from local community organizations to engage in virtual conversations around dynamic topics. Using the sport as a bridge for these discussions, the ultimate intention is to break down barriers and build positive, lasting connections that last beyond each session and permeate the community.

This year, the Lakers welcomed community participants from Project Blue, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, and COMMUNITYx. Three virtual conversations were held, moderated by Sean Sheppard, founder of non-profit Game Changer. In the days following each conversation, participants came together to enjoy a Lakers home game and meal at Crypto.com Arena.

Each meeting covered topics such as implicit bias, fair treatment/integrity, and trust. Contributors to the conversations offered spirited opinions and respectful solutions, and almost all had one main theme in common: communication between civilians and officers must continue to grow.

building-bridges-with-basketball-2022

Building Bridges with Basketball 2022

nbaplatformservices

building-bridges-with-basketball-2020

Building Bridges with Basketball 2020

This February, the Lakers held their Building Bridges with Basketball program, which serves as an opportunity for members of the Los Angeles Police Department and at-risk youth from local community organizations to engage in conversation around dynamic topics and to play basketball. Using the sport as a springboard for these discussions around labeling, respect and accountability, the goal is to break down barriers and build positive, lasting connections that last beyond each session and permeate the community. This year, the Lakers welcomed community participants from Watts Skills Academy, Game Changer, 4wrd Progress and Anti-Recidivism Coalition.

To kick off the month-long initiative, the Lakers Youth Foundation hosted the groups at their pre-game Black History Month reception at Shaquille’s restaurant on February 6th. The reception included inspirational speeches about what we can learn from Black History from Laker legends A.C. Green and Dennis Rodman, as well as 1968 Olympic athlete John Carlos. All three athletes discussed their unique experiences as black athletes, their role models and what they hope for future generations. After the reception, all guests were able to walk across the street to STAPLES Center and enjoy that night’s exciting game against the Houston Rockets.

The Lakers continued Building Bridges with Basketball with two meetings hosted at UCLA Health Training Center focused on dialogues moderated by Game Changer and LAPD Community Safety Partnerships. During these meetings, participants held constructive conversations about accountability, awareness and relationship-building, and heard from Lakers legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper, as well as current Lakers players Dwight Howard and Troy Daniels. Coach Phil Handy also stopped by to share wisdom with the guests on the importance of supporting one another. Along with these inspirational exchanges, all participants were given the opportunity to show off their skills on the Lakers practice court as the LAPD and community groups intermixed for some friendly and competitive 5-on-5 games.

During the final week of the program, the Lakers hosted all participating community organizations and LAPD for a final reception as the South Bay Lakers took on the Santa Cruz Warriors. Prior to the game, all participants came together to dialogue with A.C. Green and to further bond with one another as they broke out into groups to speak about the similarities they all share, regardless of their situation. Groups found countless similarities between themselves such as a love for basketball, a passion for helping their community and even a common love for dogs.

Building Bridges with Basketball was motivational for all parties as they learned to overcome biased roadblocks and appreciate one another in the community.  It is our hope that the youth and the LAPD take these lessons and bring them back to their families and peers, ultimately creating a stronger, safer community.

Building Bridges

Building Bridges with Basketball

Building Bridges with Basketball - March 2023

Photos: Building Bridges with Basketball

Building Bridges with Basketball 2022

Building Bridges with Basketball 2020

Building Bridges with Basketball 2020

Building Bridges with Basketball 2017

Building Bridges with Basketball 2017