North Texas

Fort Worth to Welcome Midnight Basketball League

Fighting crime and changing lives in Fort Worth 100 days at a time was the plan for a group of mentors and community leaders who launched a “No Shots Fired” campaign this summer.

The group has now reached the end of the first 100 days and say they’ve made amazing headway in offering opportunities in the community.

“We have partnered with Midnight Basketball out of San Francisco for the license agreement for the Fort Worth Midnight Basketball franchise here in Fort Worth,” Rev. Kyev Tatum said. “We will be rolling that out over Christmas with the NBA Retired Players Association.”

The “No Shots Fired” initiative started in June with a cleanup event that paired Fort Worth youth and neighbors of the Southside community. Since then, city leaders have worked closely with the group and the University of North Texas have signed on to serve as reading tutors.

“We are wanting to build them up and not beat them down. The system beat those kids down and we are not in the business of beating them down,” Tatum said.

“People don't commit crimes because they just want to commit crimes. People who rob and steal are people who are without,” Tatum said. “If we can show them how to learn, save and invest then we don't have to deal with them stealing, killing and destroying other people's property.”

The next 100 days of the plan will begin on National Night Out Oct. 3.

“We are going to win this battle over crime and over prejudice, discrimination and those things; not by continuing to fight each other but in a real sense finding a way to come together then troubleshoot the issues and resolve them,” Tatum said.

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