LINCOLN, NEB — LINCOLN, Neb. — The Lincoln Police Department and the Malone Center hosted their third annual “Unity in the Community” basketball game, bringing together police officers and students on mixed teams. The event served as a fundraiser to support the Malone Center’s summer athletics programs.
Stanford Binko Bradley, Director of Future Elite, emphasized the importance of the event. “We work with so many kids that, you know, there’s multiple kids in the family and they don’t really have the access to be able to afford the high level basketball and the traveling and all that,” said Bradley. “So being able to do events like this, we’re able to, you know, get people to come support and raise money. It helps a lot of families not be able to, you know, make the decision between paying hundreds of dollars for summer basketball or being able to, you know, have food and things throughout the summer. So this gives them a great opportunity.”
Bradley noted that the fundraiser typically covers the tuition for about four children to participate in summer basketball.
He also highlighted the event’s role in fostering relationships between police officers and the community. “Here allows for, you know, the police officers to see kids in a different light and build those relationships,” Bradley said. “So hopefully down the road they see, you know, another kid they’re like, ‘Oh, I played on a basketball team with this kid that, you know, played for a future elite, and this kid, you know, dealing with in this situation reminds me of him, and now I can handle the situation in a different way.'”
Bradley expressed hope that the event would help break down barriers, allowing officers to understand the children better and for the children to see officers as people with challenging jobs.