Former NBA player hosts summer basketball league for Milwaukee youth

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A former NBA player is giving Milwaukee youth a chance to get off the streets and onto the court. 

Mike Taylor's Safe Summer Basketball League tipped of Tuesday night and as CBS 58's Michele Fiore shows us, it's about a lot more than just a game.

These students may have signed up to play basketball in Milwaukee, but they're getting so much more. 

"To bring awareness to the mental part of the athlete, who are just sometimes looked at as physical specimens."

Former LA Clippers player giving back in the community where he grew up #MKE It’s Mike Taylor’s Safe Summer Basketball League / Watch @cbs58 tonight at 10 pic.twitter.com/IVTzaLg6ia

— Michele Fiore (@michelehana) July 11, 2023

Mike Taylor, a 2004 graduate of John Marshall High School, learned at a young age how stress can affect the athlete. 

"One of my best friends died here in Milwaukee in a car accident, and that was like my first time dealing with death," said Taylor. 

That's why the Mike Taylor Safe Summer Basketball League's got more than court time. Over the next four weeks, a tasty dinner starts the night, then it's a series of yoga, meditation and breath work. 

"It's like what kind of things can I get into that's gonna help me stay calm in situations where I'm just flustered?" said Ericka Sinclaire, Health Connections, Inc. 

Three-on-threes being played on eight half courts, twice a week for four weeks. 

"This is a great sport, and I think they should do this all summer."

Seeing this many people at McGovern Park takes Mike Taylor back to his childhood, and he says he wants this to be the norm. 

"So, I'm just recreating something that I grew up having and had fun doing," Taylor said. "I've been noticing, post-pandemic, a lot of the kids - and before the pandemic, a lot of the kids wasn't coming outside to have fun."

Parents say it was easy to get their kids to want to be here for this.

"He's super excited, especially when I told him who's actually sponsoring it," said Bjay Dooley, mom. 

"Being a positive Black man and a professional athlete, I realize my role here in the community," Taylor said.

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