Dallas Mavericks Shooting Guard Reggie Bullock is in Town

Pro baller Reggie Bullock arrived in Belize this afternoon and visited the Mexico Sports Center where dozens of high school students from across the city were participating in a basketball tournament.  His trip to the Jewel is for some much needed rest and relaxation after his team, the Dallas Mavericks, was eliminated during the NBA’s Western Conference Finals.  Beyond spending personal time enjoying the country, Bullock reached out to the Ministry of Home Affairs and suggested an engagement with these secondary school students, some of whom are at risk of joining gangs.

Jacob Leslie

Jacob Leslie, President, Belize Basketball Federation

“I was contacted by the Ministry of Home Affairs through CEO Kevin Arthurs.  They had been contacted by Mr. Reggie Bullock who was coming to Belize on vacation and he reached out wanting to engage with our young people and have a conversation with them and kind of, you know, really make an impact on their lives.  So what we are doing here is just to facilitate that for them, for him actually and to give these young people an opportunity to meet an NBA player, something that they may never get an opportunity to do.”

Keith Madrill

Keith Madrill, Sports Coordinator

“If you notice around the city or the country, what is happening is that they are doing a lot of programs for people who are already in gangs.  These kids are at-risk kids, so to do something like this for them, to show them that somebody of this nature can come and speak to them positively is something great for them and I see that, and I think we need to have more positive things like this within our society for our high school students as well.”

Kareem Musa

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“It’s all a part of us implementing this new approach to fighting crime, particularly in Belize City.  As you mentioned, on the last occasion we brought an NFL Hall of Famer, Ed Reid, and he really wanted to visit the prison and visit with those at-risk youths and to inspire them and motivate them and certainly lead them in a more positive path in life.  Today we are extremely grateful to have with us an NBA star who was in the Western Conference Finals.  He is, in fact a starting player for the Dallas Mavericks and he just set the franchise record for the Dallas Mavericks with fifty three-pointers in the Playoffs and he is also, and this part is near and dear to me.  He is also the recipient of the Kareem Abdul Jabbar social justice award and that means so much to me that he is actually here because, as Belizeans, we always appreciate and we‘re very proud when celebrities come to Belize to vacation and we‘re even more proud when they come and they want to invest in Belize and they love Belize.  But the huge and added bonus in all of this is when you have somebody like a Reggie Bullock who wants to give back, who wants to meet with the locals, who wants to interact with our youths and certainly make a positive impact in their lives.”

Jacob Leslie

“What I’m hoping from this is that they can really get a clearer picture of what it takes to excel in basketball, see someone who is at that level but finds them important enough to come and engage with them.  You know, many times our young people don‘t feel valued, but you have an NBA player who chose to come to our country and speak to you guys, so I‘m hopeful they find credit in that, find value in that and that inspires them.”