Tyreek Counts had an idea — to use basketball as a way to combat violence in Kensington and throughout the city. So last year, he pulled together a group to hold a tournament, hosted by the New Kensington Community Development Corporation.
“Me and my team sat down and we did our Guns Down Now Basketball Peace Tournament on September 21 of 2024, and we had a huge turnout,” said Counts, the outreach coordinator for NKCDC. “We had over 140 people that showed up.”
Fast forward to this January and the launch of the Cure Violence basketball league, a safe place for adult men to come together to socialize, get in some exercise and learn social and teamwork skills. There were no registration or participation fees.
The program, a partnership between Esperanza Health and NKCDC’s Cure Violence program, fills a community gap for men between 18 and 40 years old, Counts said.
“There’s a lot of things for the youth, there’s a lot of things for the senior citizens, but for that age group, they’re deemed as problematic and that they can’t come together and work without violence,” he said. “So we wanted to show them that they were wrong.”
Counts said the program aims to be a bright spot for Kensington.
“A lot of people see the drug epidemic and the homelessness and things of that nature, and they think that’s all Kensington has to offer,” he said. “But there’s a lot of great things going around amongst the chaos that’s going around.”
Bright spots
Kensington has seen some promising change over the past year. Data released earlier this year showed a 57% reduction in shootings in the community between 2023 and 2024, and a 17% reduction in violent crimes such as rape and homicide.
When Mayor Cherelle Parker entered office in 2024, she immediately launched an effort to address the opioid use epidemic in the Kensington area and revive the community. The city shut down an encampment in the Kensington neighborhood in May 2024, and provided resources and treatment for those experiencing homelessness or struggling with drug addiction.
While some say they were disappointed with the execution of these tactics, there have been some signs of progress.
The league is just one piece of Cure Violence Kensington, a community violence intervention program that treats gun violence as a public health issue. Cure Violence is an extension of the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, which has served the communities of Kensington, Fishtown and Port Richmond since 1985.
A successful first season
The league’s first season started January 13 and ran until the end of March. Counts said there was a strong turnout for players and teams.
“We had eight teams with about nine guys total to each team from Kensington and throughout the city,” he said. “And they came Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m., with two games per day. And they practiced and all those things.”
One of the most important parts of the league, Counts said, was allowing residents to work together positively and collaboratively.
“We practice the social skills part, so we can talk to one another and let them know everything doesn’t have to end in violence,” he said. “We can fix things with communication, so that’s one thing that we wanted to express. We wanted to express teamwork, also, with coming together to accomplish something as a unit.”
There was a lot of positivity during the season’s games, said participant Tyreese Whitaker.
“I had a fabulous time, just time to get away, running up and down the court with lots of laughter and lots of smiles,” he said.
Whitaker has lived in Kensington for 17 years. He said he sees this league as a unique opportunity to escape the worries of the day.
“A lot of people came there and no one knows how people’s days go, but I can tell you we all had a good time when we got there,” he said.
A broader picture
The league offers a lifeline for people who are in need of recreational, low- or no-cost activities, said NKCDC vice president Amy Perez.
“There are not leagues like this for adult men that you don’t have to pay for,” she said. “And the participants that we recruit are people who have not a lot of extra money to pay for their own league or something. They’re paying bills and supporting their families.”
Counts said the league also encourages teammates to talk through issues, rather than resorting to violence. He heard from community and league members that the impact of the program was notable.
“This is the first time they said that they have seen a group of teams coexist and be able to break bread and eat together at the end of the league,” he said. “And talk even if they didn’t win.”
The league uses Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association referees. Perez said one referee was surprised by the sportsmanship of the teams at the championship game.
“One of the refs said to me, ‘I’ve never been after a championship game where I can sit down and the two teams that just played each other are all eating together, and I’m not being escorted to my car,’” she said. “So it was not just us that noticed, but the ref was really noticing the difference between the dynamics with this league versus other leagues that he refs for.”
Whitaker said there were some “intense games,” but part of the league’s success was in handling these moments well.
“Tempers flared a few times, but everyone remained civil and I think that was the biggest part of the whole thing,” he said.
“When they come here and whatever is going outside and they play basketball, it’s kind of like a kid on the playground, and nothing matters right now,” he said. “And we wanted to give them back that thought and that memory of when they were teens, and they didn’t have these problems that adults have with bills and handling things and kids and things of that nature.”
The future of the league
The league is currently funded through grants and Esperanza Health, which also provided gym space.
“So we partnered with Esperanza for space and we used their space, and they shared some of the costs, but most of it was paid for by a grant that we have from the Department of Justice,” she said.
The money covered the winter season and an upcoming summer session, Perez said. She hopes the program can be extended.
“Moving forward we hope that funding will continue, but definitely we’ll be looking for anyone who wants to fund this,” she said. “We were able to fund for the past season and for the summer for sure, but after that, the environment right now for funding is uncertain.”
Dates are currently being set for the summer season. Counts sees the program as instilling a lot of positive values.
“A lot of us got longtime friends through sports,” he said. “A lot of us met people from different walks of life and different backgrounds through sports. In sports, they build discipline, they build character, they build teamwork, they build sportsmanship through winning and losing. I want that mission to continue to grow.”
