Whatever happened to Midnight Basketball?

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12/2/14, "What Ever Happened to Midnight Basketball?" Rush Limbaugh

Founded in 1986 by G. Van Standifer, Midnight Basketball became well known after President Bill Clinton proposed it as a crime prevention aid for urban youth in 1994:

6/18/1994, "Presidential Radio Address - 18 June 1994," by William Jefferson Clinton

"Providing more police and tougher punishment isn't enough. We have to deter crime where it starts. This proposal also gives people something to say yes to. It provides jobs for thousands of young people from high-crime neighborhoods, particularly those who stay in school, off drugs, and out of trouble. It gives funds to keep schools open after hours. It adds support for boys and girls clubs, for community activities like midnight basketball. It builds better partnerships between our police and our young people.

An investment in a child is not only a contribution to America's future, it's a real stroke in the war against crime. Those on the frontlines of crime, our police officers, have witnessed firsthand the explosion in youth crime and violence, and they know this is true. A coalition representing more than half a million law enforcement officers nationwide has just written to me and said, "We support the inclusion in the crime bill of substantial funds for prevention programs. They can help make a difference."

Here at the Robert Taylor Homes on Friday I saw young people wearing T-shirts for peer groups, for adopt-a-grandparent's program, for antidrug programs, for midnight basketball programs. I met adults working in tenant patrols. All these prevention programs are unleashing the grassroots energy of responsible residents who understand that they, too, have a duty to try to do something about crime. They're young, they're old, they're middle-aged; they want to take their streets, their neighborhoods, their communities back. And we owe it to them to support them. We can only do it if we keep the prevention component of the crime bill."...

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Image above from RushLimbaugh.com
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"The Midnight Basketball League Story"

"The Midnight Basketball League (MBL) was founded in 1986 by the late G. Van Standifer as an alternative for young adults to drugs, crime and other social problems. MBL gets kids off the streets by offering late night basketball and mandatory education counseling, mentoring and personal development workshops in a safe environment. The program helps develop discipline and direction as well as providing participants with a source of pride and accomplishment. MBL is more than just recreation. Basketball is the hook; it is the sport of choice for the target population. Basketball is also an activity in which both individual talent and group teamwork are necessary to achieve the desired result. Basketball combined with the mandatory training, educational and counseling workshops are the essential ingredients
of the MBL.

Open to all young adult males (17 to 21) years of age residing in Prince George's County, each MBL participant must attend the mandatory sessions on game day. These workshops cover such topiecs as health awareness/AIDS, steroid use, resume writing, job interview skills, community involvement, responsibility, personal development, and basic money management."...



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