Basketball was a big deal where I grew up.  It wasn’t my sport – but in Niagara Falls, it was and probably still is everything for many kids. As a high schooler, I was fortunate to attend some of the most competitive high school games imaginable.  Christian Laettner, who achieved fame with one of the most clutch shots in NCAA Tournament history, played against my high school’s team just a few years before.  He played for Nichols High School – a man among kids on the court, but when Nichols faced Lasalle Senior High School at the state championship in Glens Falls in 1987, Laettner could not score enough points alone.  He lost that one.

Basketball games in Niagara Falls in the early 1990s had a certain intensity before the games, on the courts, and after the games.  For many of these, there couldn’t be enough school security.  And reflecting on it all now, I must give Mr. Ventrilla, our Vice Principal, much credit.   His visibility was noteworthy, even to this day, by most of us who went to LaSalle.  He was at the games, cheering the team, sometimes even announcing the players – and always with a watchful eye on us.  His hair was always slicked back – it had to be Bryl Cream, and with a pack of Marlboros in his shirt pocket, tall, and with a deep voice, he was easy to pick out of a crowd.  We straightened up when we saw him coming.

Gametime behavior came to a head in 1991 at the Boys and Girls Club on 17th Street when a team from New York City came to play in a YMCA tournament – not a school event. With less than a minute left in the game, played on a weekend in April, a fight broke out on the court.

I was not there.

But what happened had a tremendous impact on me then and still does.  One of the spectators attending the game, a 16-year-old student from my school, who not only did I know, but my father was his 3rd-grade teacher, left the spectator stands to join the fight.  And while doing this, he stabbed a visiting player from New York City to death right there on the court in front of everyone. 

There was a before that moment and an after it.

When we went to events for school and others in Niagara Falls, people had to check our IDs to ensure we were not from NYC.  Fears of retaliation loomed in the community.  Police presence everywhere was noted, and oh man, did the rumors fly.  There used to be alcohol-free events that we could go to on the weekends – where there’d be music and dancing – but many of those were canceled too.   

Now, 32 years later, when I think back to what happened – why did Brian (went by Chris) stab that boy?  Was he in danger?  Probably not, as he had to leave the stands to get involved.  A lot was going on there – oh, so much more.  And most of the fundamental matters that led to this event have been coming out of my mouth for years.  Behavioral health services for kids, quality adult supervision, opportunities for all kids to participate – starting young, and crisis management plans for the most volatile youth.

Thirty-two years later, I think of what happened at the Boys Club – two blocks from where I grew up – nearly daily.  A proactive stance on the above matters can save lives – so our investments in these things must be substantial and real.  Do we need data to support this work?  Or can we understand that since we cannot record the number of murders that don’t happen – we should always reflect on the ones that did?