A group teenage boys living in poverty-stricken areas of Atlanta played a special game of baseball over the weekend.
Their opponent? A team of Atlanta police officers.
The baseball game was the brainchild of Brad Jubin of Tyrone. At a time when police shootings and simmering tensions between police officers and black residents dominate headlines, Jubin, a motivational speaker, couldn’t stand on the sidelines. Compelled to make a difference, he proposed an idea for a game that took place last August and was called “Safe at Home Game.” They played again on Saturday.
The inspiration for the Safe at Home Game all started a couple of years ago when Jubin spoke to 60 high schoolers at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta to talk about "becoming the person you are supposed to be" and perhaps even becoming the person who one day cures childhood cancer. After delivering his talk, Jubin, who co-founded APIVEO (Always Play 4 (IV) Each Other), a nonprofit that uses sports as a vehicle to teach kids about strong leadership and character, remained at the school to watch high schoolers play a baseball game.
Jubin admitted to at first being scared for his safety when he pulled into the parking lot. His perspective changed while watching a group of high schoolers compete in a self-officiated baseball game.
“I was in inner-city Atlanta. I was walking over to a field full of black kids, and based on the neighborhood I was in, I was uncomfortable, to say the least,” said Jubin, who brought his son Christian along for the trip. “But what I witnessed on that field was the greatest display of respect I had ever seen in the last place I thought I would see it. When we left, as I walked to the car, I was a different person. I was no longer scared. I was inspired.”
Jubin was struck by how the kids played such a spirited but respectful game of baseball — without any umpires to settle disagreements. What he witnessed didn’t match the narrative he was seeing on the news about young black men and women violently clashing with police officers in cities across the country.
What he saw was an opportunity — a way for teenage boys to play a self-officiated baseball game against the police officers who patrol their communities. He was confident if they spent time together playing baseball — playing, competing, laughing, talking on a late summer afternoon — they could come together to change the dynamic, improve relationships, and perhaps even change lives.
Jubin sent the following recap of the game Saturday via e-mail:
The game was great! Both teams played their hearts out. The kids jumped out to an 8-0 lead through the first 5 innings. The cops had plenty of opportunities, especially in the 3rd and 5th innings when the cops had bases loaded but failed to get a run across the plate. The cops buckled down on defense and held the kids runless while scoring 2 runs in the 6th and then rallying with 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th and final inning. With 2 outs, bases loaded and down by only 2 runs, the cops hit a driving fly ball into the right field gap. Amazingly the right fielder was able to run it down and make the catch, recording the final out and securing an 8-6 victory for the kids!
