ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) – A member of the legendary Harlem Globetrotters made a stop at Valley View Elementary School in Ashwaubenon to talk with students about bullying through their T.E.A.M. Up At School program.
Talk, Empathy, Asking questions, and Mobilizing together. Those are the basic concepts that Briana “Hoops” Green of the Harlem Globetrotters brought to local students.
“Going to schools, we enjoy it. We encourage kids to be kind, we encourage them to talk to somebody if they have an issue, we encourage them to have empathy. It’s basketball, but we’re more than that,” Green tells WTAQ News, “The Globetrotters are known as being ambassadors of goodwill, so we think basketball is important, but being good ambassadors promoting kindness and being active is too.”
She used different basketball skills like shooting, cheering on classmates, and teaming up to steal the ball as ways to drive the ideas home.
“I try to break it down for them in ways that they can understand. Like giving them the ball. Mobilize is a big word, but by teaming up – for example when I had them try to steal the ball from me – one guy may not be able to do it, but if you have someone helping you, the chances are better,” Green says.
As school violence continues to appear in the new, Green thinks connecting with children at a young age is key in making a difference.
“If there’s an issue, go and speak up. Have empathy. You never know what someone’s going through. You never know what’s going on. So that’s why we’re here, to lift them, let them know they’re not alone. And just again, be kind, because it can go a long way,” Green says, “we encourage the kids to talk to their teachers, talk to an adult figure, the principal, the police officers. Whatever it might be. And then mobilize the situation, so that’s what TEAMing up for school stands for.”
Green tells students they are at school to get an education, but also to have fun. If they have something they may be struggling with, talking about it will help. “Go find somebody that you can talk to, a friend. If you have anything going on, you need at least one person to talk to and get that off your chest,” Green says.
Green is also the first female Globetrotter to visit Green Bay, and just the 15th woman to ever play on the team. The Globetrotters play at the Resch Center December 28th.
