WASHINGTON — From the first spin of the basketball on the tip of his
finger, Harlem Globetrotter Handles Franklin had the kids at Bancroft
Elementary School in D.C., in the palm of his hand.
They gathered in the gym, excited to see what their visitor had in store.
From the lightning-fast ball handling, to shooting for the basket from his
knees, Franklin had the kids gasping with awe. Then he selected kids from the
audience for games, all the time weaving his message into the morning’s
lesson: “Bullying is not cool!”
Franklin explained the ABC’s of bullying prevention to the students:
- A is for the Action that should be taken when bullying happens,
- B is for the Bravery it takes to intervene and
- C is for the Compassion kids are encouraged to show others.
The kids took in Franklin’s message, eagerly repeating the ABC’s back to him
when asked. Franklin says one of the best things about being a Harlem
Globetrotter is being able to visit schools and talk directly to kids.
“I’m passionate about it,” he said. “I love talking to kids and trying to make
a positive difference.”
Franklin clearly won over even the shyest children, bringing them into the
games, passing the ball into a circle, showing them some tricks — but he
says he doesn’t want the lesson to get lost in all the fun. “I want to be able
to come back months from now and they remember the things that I talked
about.”
Kassandra Reyes, 8, said she was inspired by the visit. She was one of a group
selected to take part in a passing game. Each child was told not to take their
eyes off the ball, as Franklin might look in one direction, but toss it
right to them. But when he went to toss it to Reyes, he lofted it gently. “He
took it too easy on me,” Reyes, who says her goal is to play basketball when
she grows up, said.
At one point, Franklin handed the petite 3rd grader a pen and had her grasp it
in both hands, with the tip facing the sky. Then he took the trademark Harlem
Globetrotters basketball and spun it on his finger. With one motion, he
transferred the ball to the tip of the pen Reyes was holding, and she beamed.
She worked to impress Franklin. “I was spinning the ball, and was trying to
move it a little bit so he could be like—‘Wow!'”
There was another message Franklin drove home to the elementary school kids:
follow your dreams. “I wanted to be a Harlem Globetrotter since I was six …
people laughed and said it would be too hard. Now I travel the world,”
Franklin explained.
Armando Ventura, 10, said his dream is “to be in the Army. Because I want to
help the United States.” Reyes said her dream of playing basketball was
reinforced by the visit, and both said that if they ever saw someone being
bullied, they think they would have the tools they need to be brave, take
action, and be compassionate. “I would stand up for them,” said Ventura.
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