Reggie Bullock, shooting guard for the Dallas Mavericks, visits Belize
By Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Friday, June 10, 2022
The Summer Time Buzzer Beater Basketball Tournament, in which several secondary schools participated, took place in Belize City on Friday, June 10, and there was a special appearance by Reggie Bullock, shooting guard for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA.
The basketball tournament is a one-day tournament organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs along with the Ministry of Sports, the Belize Basketball Federation, and the National Secondary Schools Sports Association in an effort to reduce violence in the city.
During his special appearance, Bullock, whose team was eliminated in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, engaged with the student-athletes and had a conversation with the kids that was aimed at motivating them to choose a productive path.
In reference to Bullock’s visit, Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs, commented, “It’s all a part of us implementing this new approach to fighting crime, particularly in Belize City. On the last occasion, we brought an NFL Hall of Famer, Ed Reid, and he really wanted to visit the prison and visit with those at-risk youths and to inspire them and motivate them and certainly lead them on a more positive path in life. Today, we are extremely grateful to have with us an NBA star who was in the Western Conference Finals. He is, in fact, a starting player for the Dallas Mavericks and he just set the franchise record for the Dallas Mavericks with fifty three-pointers in the playoffs.”
Hon. Musa additionally noted, “… He is also the recipient of the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Social Justice Award, and that means so much to me that he is actually here, because, as Belizeans, we always appreciate and we‘re very proud when celebrities come to Belize to vacation, and we‘re even more proud when they come and they want to invest in Belize and they love Belize. But the huge and added bonus in all of this is when you have somebody like a Reggie Bullock who wants to give back, who wants to meet with the locals, who want to interact with our youths and certainly make a positive impact in their lives. So today’s event is all about the children.”