Basketball Cop Foundation to build NBA-sized court

A Gainesville church may get a new basketball court this month.

Gainesville Police Officer Bobby White, nicknamed the Basketball Cop, is planning to construct an NBA-sized, two-hoop basketball court at the Ignite Life Center through his Basketball Cop Foundation.

White said he hopes the latest court will be completed this month for teenagers who attend the church, located at 404 NW 14th Ave.

White said that after someone donated a basketball hoop to the church about three months ago, Ignite Life Center contacted him.

“I decided to go bigger than that and build a whole NBA court,” he said.

The new court is being sponsored by the law firm Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano, which is expecting to give between $4,000 and $5,000 to build it, said Julie A. Fine, an associate attorney for the firm.

Through his foundation, which was created in January after dash-cam footage of him playing basketball with kids after a noise complaint went viral, White has built a court in one of the kids’ backyards and at Upper Room Ministries, located at 3575 NE 15th St. Last week, White’s work was recognized by the National Consortium for Academics in Sport. He won the 2016 Civic Leader Award.

Fine said she and the firm offered to sponsor the court to support the community.

“It just seemed like a really worthwhile project,” she said.

The court located at the Upper Room of Greater Gainesville church was also built as part of the Basketball Cop Foundation in August 2016.