‘One Heartbeat': Basketball Hall of Famer Donates Basketball Courts to Dallas So Police and Children Can Bond

Jackets and fuzzy blankets could hardly keep the 30 or so elementary school students from shivering as they sipped hot chocolate while standing on their new basketball court.The 36-degree weather wasn't ideal for hoops, but the students and their chaperones didn't seem to mind. They gathered anyway at the J.W. Ray Park in Old East Dallas to celebrate the blue-colored court, an upgrade from the grimy cement slab they were accustomed to.The so-called Dream Court was a gift from basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman's charity.Dallas has two Dream Courts so far. Lieberman, an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings, wants to install at least eight more over the next two years. Emblazoned on the courts is the Dallas Police Department's logo and the "Dallas Strong" moniker that took off after five police officers were fatally ambushed in downtown Dallas last summer.Lieberman says she wants kids in underprivileged areas to have safe -- and fun -- spaces to hang out."We're doing this for you because we love you, we care about you, and we want you to have everything in life that you desire or you dream about," she told the children when the J.W. Ray Park's Dream Court was unveiled last month.  Continue reading...

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