Lately, basketball and the streets seem to be too closely related. It’s a fact, some of the best basketball players come from tough neighborhoods. As a matter of fact, some of the best people come from tough neighborhoods. There’s something about the struggle that creates an unmatchable toughness and work ethic. However, the problem comes when as basketball players, we get involved with the negative side of the streets. Anybody with experience will tell you that it’s much easier to get caught up than it is to avoid the problems. In the last month, we had two incidents in the basketball community.
Armoni Sexton, a star in the C/O 2018 was tragically shot and killed. I’m not here to use anyone as an example. I do hope that this opened the eyes of many young hoopers though. I didn’t know Armoni, I don’t know whether or not it was his fault. What I do know is that his tragic death and Monday night’s shooting of C/O 2016 star, Rakym Felder, made me feel like I had to write this article.
I got word through social media so I don’t really know much about Rakym’s case. I’m not close with him either, I’ve only seen him play once or twice and I was impressed, I’m not impressed easily. But that’s not what it’s about, it could’ve been him, an unknown player, anyone! Like I said, I’m not here to make anyone look bad because I don’t know their situation. But those two cases made me feel like I had to reach out to the basketball community.
If you have any beef, squash it. If you’re somewhere and it’s looking suspicious, just leave. Would you rather be called “p*s*y” for trying to squash beef or end up with a bullet in your head? Think about it.
