DETROIT (WWJ) -- A group of local students got the chance to feel like Detroit Pistons for the day when they played a pickup game at the team’s training facility this week.
Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Herman Moore teamed up with the Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) to organize a Cops & Kids basketball game on Tuesday at The Pistons Performance Center in Detroit.
Aside from the chance to have a little fun on the big court, the event also served as a way to connect law enforcement with the local community, and build bonds between youth and mentors.
Moore had the idea to host the pickup game after he purchased a Pistons season ticket package for his company, Team 84. The package also included two hours of court time at the training facility, and he wanted to use the opportunity to do some good in the Detroit community.
"We thought it'd be great, given the climate and just the connection the community and law enforcement need to have," Moore told The Detroit News. "How do we get them together in a place where they can have that communication, how they can come together and have those critical conversations.”
The event was a fun day for students and PAL officers alike, and Moore says he hopes it can be replicated in other communities in the future.
Founded in 1969, the Detroit Police Athletic League is a program that matches officers with children to act as mentors and coaches. The PAL program uses athletics to help students learn important skills like discipline, teamwork, leadership, and responsibility.
Learn more about PAL on their website, and watch more about Cops & Kids game in the video below.