About three weeks after they were reported for “loudly” playing basketball, nine Gainesville kids and a handful of police officers sat courtside at an NBA game Sunday afternoon.
In late January, representatives for the Orlando Magic invited Gainesville Police Officer Bobby White to accompany the kids and their parents to the game, said Officer Ben Tobias, spokesman for the Gainesville Police.
By the game’s end, as the Magic beat the Atlanta Hawks on a late-game shot, the kids loudly celebrated — free from fear of complaints.
“You could just see their faces glowing,” Tobias said.
Sunday afternoon, the group drove to Orlando’s Amway Center on a team bus. When they arrived, the kids watched player warmups and received autographs, Tobias said.
Officer White, famous for a dashboard-camera video showing him and the kids playing basketball, announced the news in the same neighborhood where the video was filmed.
In the footage of the announcement, the kids screamed and waved their arms in the air.
“If any of y’all get in any trouble by then, you’re out of my crew, so you don’t get to go,” White says in the video.
Tobias, who posted a video of the original encounter and watched it reach millions of views, said he still can’t believe how much attention it brought the department.
He said it’s a refreshing break from negative police interactions seen around the country, often involving younger people.
“Hopefully we’ve surprised everyone, including the kids,” Tobias said.
