All’s Fair in Love & Basketball

Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals, the Chicago Bulls got their first Finals victory! Chicago Stadium, the home court of the Bulls, was near the Henry Horner Housing Projects. There lived a 12-year-old boy who dreamed of being an NBA Superstar like his idol Michael Jordan. The young man would practice his basketball moves during any free time he had on his hands. His mother would say, “l know you love basketball Glenn, but education is most important!” His mother & father worked hard to instill good values in Glenn. Glenn loved & respected his parents. He was an honor roll student at his elementary school. He wasn’t the most popular kid in his class due to his extreme focus. He alienated himself to perfect his basketball skills and stay on top of his studies! He once heard Michael Jordan say, “You are only as good as you practice & prepare. I try to be great at everything I do. I can accept failure, but what I can’t accept is not trying!” Glenn lived by this mantra. Once at an AAU youth basketball tournament, Glenn scored 29 points & 11 of those points were in the fourth quarter. If you watched the film of the game his dad recorded, you will see the uncanny resemblance of Jordan’s game. The kid even played tenacious defense. In his room, you would not be able to tell what color the walls were due to the Jordan paraphernalia! Everyone spoke highly of the kid. Glenn was the type of kid you would not expect to break his curfews or sneak out of the house. Yet after watching the impressive performance by the Bulls in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, he could not help himself! He thought, I’m 10 minutes away from the stadium. I could just go down there & be back & no one would notice. He was mesmerized by the thought of actually seeing Michael Jordan in the flesh. He had tried so many times & failed but he knew Jordan was right down the street! At that moment he jumped out of his bed & got dressed. He snuck past his parent's room and headed down to the arena. He was only one block away. His eyes glowed with the lights from the stadium. He was about to cross the street when two Chicago Police squad cars cut him off. One almost hit him because the driver jumped the curb. A woman who was just robbed cried in the back seat of said police car. She really could not remember the accounts of the horrible ordeal she just endured. I am not sure why but she assured the officers that Glenn robbed her. She was robbed right after the game was over. Glenn was still in thought in his bed while the lady was being stuck up. The real perpetrator ran toward the housing project Glenn was coming from. As the police rode the lady around, for only 4 minutes, she saw Glenn & said, “Him!” The police didn’t hesitate, they made a U-turn and pulled up right in front of Glenn almost hitting him! The officer who was driving jumped out with his gun drawn screaming at Glenn. Glenn was terrified. He turned around and ran. The officer in the passenger seat hopped out to chase Glenn, but before he fully got out of the car his partner shot Glenn four times! Glenn fell face first smashing into the concrete. If the gunshots didn’t kill the young man, the fall did. The kids at his school were truly hurt. They held a vigil for him the night the Bulls won the Championship. I think he had a closed-casket funeral. Potential gone to waste. Were there any charges on the officer who killed this child you might ask yourself. Just remember this was 1991. Laugh out loud yet crying! All’s fair, right?