Philadelphia PAL annual basketball game shows kids officers' personalities
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Students came together across Philadelphia on Friday for a basketball game hosted by the Philadelphia Police Department at Temple University that was much more than a traditional game of 5-on-5.
A shot at a basket -- and a future.
Dozens of Philadelphia students came together Friday for an annual basketball game with the Police Athletic League.
"It's a good time here," 15-year-old Kelly Hawkins said. "Everybody can get along and no drama, nobody arguing."
The coaches are Philadelphia police officers.
"An officer took me and showed me a different light to not go out and do the dumb stuff on the street," Officer Brian Graves said.
For the last 28 years, Graves has been with the police department's traffic unit but his passion for the past 21 years is being a coach with the Philly Ballers League.
"It's our obligation to show them that we care about them," Graves said, "and that we just don't have a 9-5 job."
Organizers say these events are so important because usually when we interact with police, it's on one of the worst days of our lives.
These events change the narrative.
"Let them see us as just another member of their neighborhoods, not necessarily as police officers that are showing up when bad things happen," Sgt. Eric Gripp said. "Let them see that we're human beings."
As this game takes place, many kids in Philadelphia are facing a harsh reality: nearly 100 students have been shot this school year.
So while they play a game, they're doing more than just playing around.
"If we can come out here together and play a basketball game," Graves said, "we should be able to sit around a table and have an open dialogue to fix the problems that's going on in our community."
