One City Basketball League brings teens from across the city with a purpose
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An unlikely partnership between a crime prevention advocate and former NBA star aims to bring much-needed change.
CBS 2's Andrew Ramos reports they're bringing hundreds of teens together on the court with one purpose.
"I'm seeing all this senseless killing. This senseless violence in the community."
Cobe Williams once led a life of crime, growing up on the South Side of Chicago. But he turned it around, choosing instead to be part of the solution. It was sound advice he received from a mentor.
"He said 'Cobe, you need to do something different. You need to change your life. You need to do this and do better and get back to your community,'" remembered Williams.
And that he did, becoming a prominent Violence Interrupter, working with youth and making change throughout his city. He would eventually grab the attention of the big man himself, former Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah.
Both men, brought together for their passion to help Chicago's youth escape violence.
"I understand my role and I'm going to try to play it as well as I can," Noah said.
Their partnership, which also includes 28 violence prevention organizations, would produce the One City Basketball League, where young men from the South Side and West Side of Chicago come together to play ball.
"This is something, a tool to bring them together. But it's much bigger than that. And when I say, it's bigger than that, one of the biggest things is going to be the follow up. Programs to different things after that," said Williams.
Job placement and education off court programming among them.
From the coaches to the coordinators, everyone involved in the league are experts in conflict resolution, all leading 280 players who will compete every Saturday.
The hopes for the league are high.
"I want them to be able to realize that they could have differences with each other without having to kill each other," said One City Coordinator Michael Brooks.
One City Basketball League Kicks off on Saturday May 20th and will run through August. It will be the first of what organizers hope will be many summer seasons for the league.