Bucks will facilitate a basketball game at prison as part of social justice campaign

In news broken by ESPN's The Undefeated, the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings will have a hand in basketball games in prisons, part of an event by the Represent Justice Campaign.

According to Marc J. Spears of ESPN, the Bucks will host a "Play of Justice" event later this month at an undisclosed prison location and then an event with the Sacramento Kings in Milwaukee on Feb. 10. The goal of the campaign is to "highlight stories of hope and redemption, as well as break down stigmas associated with individuals — primarily people of color and the poor — impacted by the criminal justice system."

The game's players will include those incarcerated on site.

NBA players and coaches will serve as honorary coaches for the initiative and engage in conversations with incarcerated individuals. The Kings will host the first event at a renovated outdoor court on Thursday at an undisclosed prison in Northern California. 

Spears wrote that Nike plans to donate sneakers to the basketball game in Wisconsin for the incarcerated players and other participants. The sneakers and clothing will then be mailed to the players' families, who will be able to attend the event, since the residents can't keep the articles of clothing while imprisoned. George Hill and Sterling Brown are expected to attend as Bucks representatives.

Brown has a pending civil suit against the city of Milwaukee after police officers used a stun gun and arrested Brown in January of 2018 when he was double-parked at Walgreens.

“My teammates, coaches and I are honored to take part in this unique criminal justice initiative to hear the stories of our community members and the challenges they face on a daily basis,” Brown said. “We are looking forward to sharing in this experience with them while also identifying how we can further this important conversation nationwide through basketball.”

The Bucks are also planning to host screenings of Just Mercy, a film that tells the story of wrongfully accused Walter McMillian and starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx. Those will take place for nonprofits in January and February.

The Bucks and Kings will also be jointly hosting a Team Up For Change summit in February in Milwaukee, addressing social injustice by bringing together community leaders. The two squads did the same last year in Sacramento.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.