Ever since Gainesville Police Officer Bobby White played basketball with local kids and became an Internet celebrity, he decided to use the sport to mend what he called a broken relationship between youth and police.
In February, White led the construction of a basketball court in the kids’ neighborhood, and now he plans to do the same at an apartment complex and a church.
At about 6:30 p.m. Monday, White, otherwise known as the Basketball Cop, will host a tournament at Gainesville High School.
The best players from six public high schools will compete against officers from four departments.
“I can’t imagine that we’re gonna beat these kids, especially if they pick their all-stars from each team, but it’ll be fun,” White said.
Tickets will cost $5 for general admission and $2 for kids 12 and under, according to a press release.
The funds will go toward White’s newly established Basketball Cop Foundation, which uses donations to bring basketball equipment to Gainesville neighborhoods.
White announced the foundation Feb. 23 and has since raised more than $5,500, which will go toward installing basketball courts and hoops at Granada Apartments, located on Northwest Fourth Street, and the Upper Room of Greater Gainesville, a church on Southeast 15th Street.
The projects will cost roughly $10,000 in total, he said.
White’s goal, he said, is to motivate police departments from across the country to use his model.
Zac Zedalis, a former detective with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and current candidate for sheriff, will play alongside White on Monday.
“Really everybody wins, even if we get beat pretty bad, so I’m excited about it,” he said.
