Back in January, a cop from Gainesville, Florida thought he was responding to a typical noise complaint. However, when he arrived to the scene of the complaint, it wasn’t what he expected.
Officer Bobby White of the Gainesville Police Department found the noise complaint was really just a group of harmless teenage boys playing basketball in the street. Instead of breaking up the “disturbance,” he decided to join them. White was quickly outnumbered and realized he needed to call in for “backup.”
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But over the coming days as White looked for that backup, the video of White playing with the young men went viral after the GPD posted the dash cam footage on social media. The act of kindness also sparked the hashtag, #HoopsNotCrime, encouraging kids to be kids. However, it did not stop there.
White returned that weekend and never in a million years would the boys guess who he brought with him. Fellow officers joined White, yet the biggest surprise was when Shaquille O’Neal appeared behind them, ready to challenge the youngsters to a pickup game.
O’Neal joined in on the rematch, took time to sign some autographs, and even gave one kid a hundred dollar bill after losing a shooting bet. The NBA icon also gave out some advice to the neighborhood kids, shared The Public Slate.
“I’m proud of you guys,” said O’Neal. “Stay out of trouble, listen to your parents, respect your elders, [and] you can be anything you want to be.”
Recently, White returned for another rematch with the teens, this time bringing along a player from the Harlem Globetrotters. White also surprised the boys by building a backyard basketball court, branding it with the official hashtag, #HoopsNotCrime.
The kindhearted officer has also formed the Basketball Cop Foundation, which will supply neighborhood kids with basketball equipment.
Check out some footage of White and friends challenging the boys to some hoops below.
