Patriots partner with Ministerial Council to honor King
Published on January 4, 2006 under NBA G League (G League)
Fayetteville Patriots News Release
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., January 4- The NBA Development League's Fayetteville Patriots have announced they will participate in Fayetteville/Cumberland County Ministerial Council's annual prayer breakfast to honor the work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 16. The gathering begins at 8 a.m. and will take place in the Crown Exposition Center.
The Patriots will be hosting the NBA D-League's annual Showcase on Sunday, Jan. 15 and Monday, Jan. 16, and as part of the prayer breakfast celebration, all attendees will be offered free tickets to the weekend's Showcase games.
"We welcomed the opportunity to be a part of the Prayer Breakfast in any way we could," said Todd DeMoss, president of the Patriots. "The lessons that Dr. King tried to teach us all, are the rules that we try to live by today. And we felt if we could help draw more attention to the celebration just by inviting everyone to the complex to enjoy our games, we would be honored to do that."
The Prayer Breakfast began as a small gathering, mainly African-American, with a goal of recognizing and remembering the work of Dr. King, according to John T. Johnson, president of the FCCMC.
"When I first became president in 1997, we wanted to move the breakfast to another level by bringing in all nationalities," Johnson said. "Most everyone knows that this is one of the most diverse communities in America. But I learned that there was difference between diverse and inclusiveness. That was the goal of Dr. King - to be inclusive, together. Diverse doesn't automatically mean inclusive. Everyone has to understand that this not a black thing, this is a community thing."
Johnson said he made a controversial decision that year that changed the breakfast permanently.
"I did something and everyone thought I was crazy," he said. "I got a white pastor to speak at the prayer breakfast. Bruce Martin at Village Baptist Church spoke and we went from a little 300-400 breakfast to having 940 there and another 500 outside trying to get in. That was the start of it beginning to grow.
"It's grown from 100 people to 3,000; from a church to the coliseum; mostly black to all races -- all to remember and move the legacy on of Martin Luther King."
A donation of $17 is requested for admission to the breakfast.
The D-League offers players the opportunity to develop their talent in a highly competitive atmosphere under the NBA's umbrella. Thirty-four (34) players have been called up to the NBA on 50 separate occasions. Ten (10) former D-League coaches, five athletic trainers, 11 referees and 30 front office executives have also been called up since the start of the league's inaugural season in November of 2001.
Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the league also offers fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. The D-League is a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 30 teams and is a diverse human resources pool for the NBA and its teams by training employees in management, operations, public relations, sales and marketing positions.
For more information on the Patriots or the NBA D-League visit fayettevillepatriots.com or call (910) 213-1005.
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