Tensions are high in America’s cities, but one Philadelphia teenager has decided to look past the strife and help her city find common ground. And all she needs is a basketball hoop.
Stephania Ergemlidze and her friend Khalil Gardner dragged a basketball hoop across downtown Philly and began asking protesters and officers to shoot a couple of shots. It was an immediate success.
“I saw how much it really pulled people together. I know how to bring people together through basketball, and if that’s something that I can do, to push for more peace in our city, then I feel like I have an obligation to do that,” said Ergemlidze. “We wanted to get police involved, pedestrians, civilians, protesters, everybody, just to kind of more unify our city because there’s a lot going on right now.”
Gardner and Ergemlidze set up camp on the corner of an intersection and held a cardboard sign that said, “I’ve always used basketball to try to bring people together. Today I feel is a day we need that most!” The teenagers also offered hand sanitizer to those who wanted to participate. Before long, the hoop attracted more than a dozen bystanders and at least one police officer.
By easing tensions, Ergemlidze said she hoped to help put an end to the destruction and violence that has resulted from Philadelphia’s riots.
“We want to push for what’s right, but we also want to make sure that we’re keeping our home intact,” she said.
And what better way to do that than by playing basketball? Sports have always provided Americans with healthy competition and commonality while also giving them something to look forward to and celebrate.
As a country, we’ll need to have hard conversations and work through much-needed reforms in the coming weeks. And after that’s done, let’s give ourselves something to look forward to. Turn on the World Series reruns. Re-watch that March Madness championship. Or drag that basketball hoop out of your garage and into your driveway. Who knows — maybe Ergemlidze is on to something.
