MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An on-court brawl last year forced both the Fairley and Westwood High School basketball teams to be sidelined, but a meal Tuesday afternoon brought the teams together once again.
For the past year, a group called Heal 901 has been working with Fairley High School basketball players on conflict resolution skills.
“You’re taught, as a team, how to bond, how to communicate, how to talk, how to respect others,” Fairley basketball player Jerald Jones Jr. said.
The state athletic association banned both the Fairley and Westwood basketball teams from playing in the postseason last season after players from both teams were involved in an altercation at a game.
The teams were back to playing each other Tuesday night, but first, Heal 901 had them sit down to share a meal.
“There is a time on the court where you have to be aggressive, but that aggression is contained, and I had to show them that you can contain that aggression, how? If you can sit down and eat with a man,” Keron Cowan with Heal 901 said.
“I mean, it was really a touching moment,” Fairley basketball coach Darren Stevens said.