The Timberwolves hosted a community event that was a bit different than most.
On Monday, the Timberwolves and the FastBreak Foundation hosted 20 local youth
and five officers from the Minneapolis Police Department to participate in a
Building Bridges through Basketball event with players Karl-Anthony Towns, Jamal
Crawford and Cole Aldrich. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was also in attendance.
Participated in first @Timberwolves Building Bridges through Basketball event w
@KarlTowns @JCrossover & @Colea45 along w @MinneapolisPD & students from around
MPLS. Talking experiences, perceptions, & charting course for shared community
policing goals. Very cool program! pic.twitter.com/ro80V1W3zg
The group participated in a facilitated discussion that created a safe space for
a candid conversation exploring perceptions and dynamics affecting law
enforcement and youth from the communities they serve. The purpose was to
encourage participants to share their perspectives, experiences and collectively
brainstorm and spotlight programmatic solutions to build a stronger, safer
Minneapolis. The event took place at the Timberwolves & Lynx practice facility
inside Mayo Clinic Square.
“Obviously, whenever you can bring out youth in the community and bring officers
together, to just hear the different perceptions and hear the thoughts,”
Crawford said after the event. “I think it was really important to get that
dialogue. . . Trying to find a common ground. I thought it was very important.”
Talks between the two sides started out slow. It was a place where all sides
might have felt uncomfortable, but according to Kim Miller, the Vice President
of Leadership and Education Programs at RISE, that led to a “healthy dialogue to
help build a stronger community together.”
PHOTOS – RISE’s Kim Miller served as guest moderator for an #NBAVoices community
conversation tonight in Minneapolis hosted by the Minnesota Timberwolves:
https://t.co/vK5khiZ1Ou @Miller_Kim @Timberwolves @MinneapolisPD @Jacob_Frey
@colea45 @JCrossover @KarlTowns @jgthomas @NBA pic.twitter.com/jTN5GHTQl2
Most of the conversations focused around police and youth relationships and how
we can improve that, together.
“I think just having these conversations will help me spread the word for other
teenagers like me and I think that it’s a good point to touch on because these
little details and understanding the law could affect your friends and somebody
you love . . . That’s big,” Charles, a student, said.
The idea for this originated with Carmelo Anthony back in 2016. Towns and the
NBA’s community team had a discussion in China prior to the season about how the
Wolves could do something similar to that. That’s where this idea was born.
“For us to come in and be part of it, it’s truly humbling,” Towns said. “We
brought a lot of leaders in who are going to go tell their friends and influence
so much more of the culture of people and how they view the police. But we know
we have a lot more work to do.”
ICYMI: @WolvesLynxCR recently hosted @MinneapolisPD, local youth, Mayor
@Jacob_Frey, and Wolves players for a dialogue around police-community
relationships, improving perceptions, and building a better future.
pic.twitter.com/ZrsmCTnVrp
Player: Cole Aldrich
Player: Jamal Crawford
Player: Karl-Anthony Towns
Media Content:
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/community/timberwolves-host-building-bridges-thro
ugh-basketball-community-talk
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cole Aldrich, Jamal
Crawford, Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Media Thumbnail:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/timberwolves/sites/default/files/building-bridges
-2-15-2018.jpg
Story Link:
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/community/timberwolves-host-building-bridges-thro
ugh-basketball-community-talk
