Bobby White
Robert "Bobby" White, nicknamed Basketball Cop,{{cite web|title='Basketball Cop' Gets Big Assist in Rematch|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/video/basketball-cop-gets-big-assist-in-rematch-607650883569|website=NBC News|accessdate=9 March 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Mettler|first1=Katie|title=Internet-famous 'Basketball Cop' forms foundation to bring the sport to more Florida kids|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/internet-famous-basketball-cop-forms-foundation-to-bring-the-sport-to/2267313/|website=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=9 March 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Bianchi|first1=Mike|title='Basketball Cop' shows kids, Shaq true meaning of police work|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sports-breaking/basketball-cop-shows-kids-shaq-true-meaning-of-police-work/|website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser|accessdate=9 March 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Cason|first1=Kristin|title='Basketball Cop' holds all-star tournament|url=http://www.news4jax.com/positively-jax/basketball-cop-holds-all-star-tournament|website=News4Jax.com|publisher=WJXT|accessdate=9 March 2016}} is an American police officer with the Gainesville Police Department in Gainesville, Florida.{{cite web|last1=Pelletiere|first1=Nicole|title=Police Officer Has Surprising Response to Complaint of Kids 'Disrupting' Neighbors|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/police-officer-surprising-response-complaint-kids-disrupting-neighbors/story?id=36449764|website=ABC News|accessdate=9 March 2016}} White rose to fame in 2016 when a dashboard camera video of him responding to a complaint about loud teenagers culminated with him playing basketball with them went viral, drawing the attention of several national media outlets.
Biography
White joined the Gainesville Police Department as a patrol officer in 2008.{{cite web|url=http://lawandorder.blogs.gainesville.com/11103/gpd-officer-of-the-month/|title=GPD Officer of the Month|date=23 May 2012|accessdate=20 March 2016|first=Cindy|last=Swirko|work=The Gainesville Sun|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330224742/http://lawandorder.blogs.gainesville.com/11103/gpd-officer-of-the-month/|archive-date=30 March 2016|url-status=dead}} In 2012 he was named Officer of the Month for an undercover drug investigation.
Viral video
On January 15, 2016, at about 5:00 p.m., the Gainesville Police Department received a call because a group of teenagers were playing basketball too loudly in an inner-city neighborhood.{{cite web|title=Magic Honor Gainesville Police Officer Bobby White and #HoopsNotCrime Crew|url=http://www.nba.com/magic/news/magic-honor-gainesville-police-officer-bobby-white-and-hoopsnotcrime-crew|website=NBA|accessdate=10 March 2016}} White was dispatched to take care of the issue, but instead of asking them to leave, he joined them for a pick-up game. White said to one of the teenagers, "Can you believe someone is calling to complain about kids playing basketball in the street?...Obviously I don't have any problem with it." Later on, a few more teenagers joined the game and White said that they brought "backup."{{cite web|last1=Earl|first1=Jennifer|title=Gainesville cop's response to teens playing basketball goes viral|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gainesville-cops-response-to-teens-playing-basketball-goes-viral/|website=CBS News|accessdate=9 March 2016}} He also lowered the rim and made a slam dunk.{{cite web|last1=Rafferty|first1=Scott|title=Cool Cop Responds to Hoops Noise Complaint With Savage Dunk|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/sports/news/cool-cop-responds-to-hoops-noise-complaint-with-savage-dunk-20160122|website=Rolling Stone|accessdate=9 March 2016}} He said that he would return the next day to play with the kids again.{{cite web|last1=Bitette|first1=Nicole|title=WATCH IT: Florida police officer surprises 'loud' teens by joining them in game of pick-up basketball|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/watch-surprises-loud-teens-game-basketball-article-1.2506140|website=New York Daily News|accessdate=9 March 2016}}
White's actions were filmed through a dashcam by the Gainesville Police Department, and they later posted the video to Facebook, with the hashtag #HoopsNotCrime. Ben Tobias, the police department's social media manager, said, "Things like this could have been handled so differently. How [Officer White] handled it really put a human aspect to it." As of March 9, 2016, the video has recorded over 17.3 million views on Facebook.{{cite web|title=Gainesville Police Department|url=https://www.facebook.com/GainesvillePolice/videos/10153223739347015/|website=Facebook|accessdate=9 March 2016}}
=Aftermath=
File:Shaquille O'Neal visits Buckley Air Base.jpg visited White and the group of boys after watching the video.]]
The video soon caught the attention of former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, who trained to become a reserve police officer for the Los Angeles Port Police and the Miami Beach police force. He contacted the Gainesville Police Department, and once White returned to play with the boys, he brought O'Neal with him. White told them, "I brought some other backup for y'all".{{cite web|last1=Stump|first1=Scott|title=Florida 'basketball cop' brings Shaquille O'Neal as backup in game with local kids|url=http://www.today.com/news/florida-basketball-cop-brings-shaquille-o-neal-backup-game-local-t68806|website=Today|accessdate=9 March 2016}} O'Neal offered the teenagers $100 for making a free throw, and he gave away $800 in total. After playing with them, O'Neal said, "Stay out of trouble, listen to your parents, respect your elders, and you can be anything you want to be"{{cite web|last1=Karimi|first1=Faith|title=Shaq, Florida officer surprise kids with a basketball game|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/24/us/florida-shaq-police-officers-game/|website=CNN|accessdate=10 March 2016}} The GPD released a six-minute video, titled "The Rematch", which received over one million views.{{cite web|last1=Golgowski|first1=Nina|title=Shaq Provides Surprise Backup In Kids' Basketball Game With Police|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shaq-basketball-kids-cops_us_56a533d4e4b076aadcc6f6cb|website=The Huffington Post|accessdate=10 March 2016}}
On February 7, 2016, several members of the police department, including White, and the teenagers he played with and their families, were invited to a game by the Orlando Magic of the NBA.{{cite web|title=Viral basketball kids and cop get invited to Orlando Magic game|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/viral-basketball-kids-cop-orlando-magic-2016-2|website=Business Insider|accessdate=10 March 2016}} The Magic brought them to the game by a bus and provided them with courtside seats for warm-ups. They met Magic players Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo as well as former players Dominique Wilkins, Nick Johnson, and Bo Outlaw. White was named "Harris Hometown Hero" and the GPD received a $1,000 donation for their youth programs.
White was prompted to create the "Basketball Cop Foundation" to build basketball courts in local areas that did not have one.{{cite web|last1=Manfred|first1=Tony|title=Basketball Cop is building courts for kids|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/basketball-cop-is-building-courts-for-kids-2016-2?amp|website=Business Insider|accessdate=10 March 2016}} On February 23, 2016, the GPD started a GoFundMe page to donate for their cause. White raised $81,140 in donations, with his goal being $25,000, before the campaign was closed in 2020{{cite web|title=BasketballCop Foundation|url=https://www.gofundme.com/basketballcop|website=GoFundMe|accessdate=10 March 2016}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.facebook.com/GainesvillePolice/videos/10153223739347015/ Official video]
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Bobby}}
Category:American municipal police officers
Category:People from Gainesville, Florida