Many children who grow up in urban areas are surrounded by poverty-stricken communities where expectations are low, sports activities are not encouraged, and joining street gangs is seen as “the thing to do.”
Expanding sports leagues in inner-city neighborhoods, therefore, would help provide urban youth with a sense of belonging, role models, discipline and exercise.
Every year, thousands of urban youth join street gangs. Many of them come from broken homes and seek a sense of belonging.
However, I’ve noticed in my own community, South Los Angeles, that children who are involved in organized sports activities are less likely to be part of gangs and go through the juvenile delinquency system than their counterparts.
In fact, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, in 2005 there were 222,512 juvenile arrests in California.
The same report states that California spends more than $25 billion annually to fight crime. This includes prisons, courts and police.
What if we were to use a fraction of the money spent on programs in juvenile correctional facilities to expand sports leagues to prevent crimes?
This would result in a smaller juvenile inmate population and fewer funds necessary to operate the facilities.
Some leagues have already been established.
Baseball leagues, for example, are mainly funded by Major League Baseball and endorsed by teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Last year, a league opened in Compton as part of the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities initiative. These leagues exist on a local basis, but they need to be implemented more widely.
The first sports leagues should be coed leagues where boys and girls will have fun together while interacting and competing in a sport of mutual interest.
A small fee could even possibly be charged to enroll children in these leagues.
That money could then provide revenue that would aid in the expansion of the sports leagues.
In order for this project to develop, an alliance must be made between the community, local government, major sports leagues and major league athletes themselves.
The community must take an active role in the development of these sports leagues. Local business owners should get incentives and tax breaks when contributing monetarily to the development of their community sports leagues.
Professional teams should designate one game of the season to promote this program, when a certain percentage of tickets, merchandise and food sold can go to the funding of these leagues.
This is an ideal opportunity for athletes to be involved in their communities.
Some athletes, such as Carmelo Anthony, have continuously helped their respective communities. Anthony, a forward for the Denver Nuggets, recently donated $1.5 million to reopen a Boys and Girls Club, now the Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center, in his native Baltimore.
The amount he donated is enough to cover 90 percent of the needed funding for five years.
Keeping youth out of gangs and jail will benefit our government and our communities.
Through these sports leagues, we will have safer neighborhoods, higher property values and lower crime rates.
Castro is a third-year sociology student.