A significant thing that is absent in our society is empathy. We have too many people on social media who are disrespectful to others. We have people killing and stealing from one another because we lack the ability to understand how it feels to be in somebody else's shoes. As a teenager, this was something I struggled with, but that all changed with my Basketball Equity Moment. I know that Basketball Equity Moment might not make much sense yet, but it will soon.

I SHOULD HAVE SAID NO!

When I was 13 years old, my friend Tim, who was 16 and built like an NFL linebacker, asked "Gene, can you sneak out of the house at 2 am?" I replied "Why, what's up?" "Me and some of the other guys want you to help us do something." "Help to do what?" "You will see if you come with us." I was a little hesitant to go with them, but I also didn't want to disappoint my friends, so I agreed to go.

At 2 am, they knocked on my door quietly. I put on my shoes, a t-shirt, and some jeans and went out of the house quietly. There was a little white car parked outside that I had never seen and all 4 of us got into it. "Whose car is this?" Tim responded, "We stole it, so we could hit this lick tonight."

WHAT'S THE LICK?

When I heard the word “lick,” I knew we were about to do something illegal in an attempt to make money. “What’s the lick?” I asked nervously. Tim drove and stopped across the street from an apartment complex and pointed. “That blue hatchback car over there has some really good sound speakers in it. We will prop open the window, and because you are small, we will slide you into the car, so you can unlock the door."

That didn't make sense, so I asked, “Why don’t you just lower the window all the way down to unlock it?” Tim responded, “Because those car windows are hard to let down and the car might have an alarm. Will you do it?” I reluctantly said "Yes."

We sprinted to the car, and Tim propped open the window with a screwdriver. He pushed it down slowly halfway, and then he and my other friends lowered me in. I unlocked the door, and we stole the speakers out of the car.

LAUGHING THIEVES

Stealing those speakers was exciting, and I also liked that I had done something my homeboys were proud of. We drove the stolen car to Tim's house, took the speakers out, then they dropped me back off at home, so they could ditch the car.

The following day, we were in Tim’s car, and we drove past the apartment complex. The blue hatchback car had “WHY YOU HATE ME!” written on the back window in big white letters. I felt bad for stealing the guy’s speakers, but I didn’t want to show it, so I laughed with my homeboys about the person’s loss. I continued to steal with my friends but two years later I learned a hard lesson on empathy.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) came out with these new leather basketballs for $100, and I really wanted one. Rather than trying to steal it, I chose to cut grass and collect cans.

PUTTING IN THE BASKETBALL EQUITY

Every Saturday, I would cut my neighbors’ lawns for $5 and during the week I would knock on doors and ask for cans from other neighbors. I would then take those cans to the aluminum machine and for every 20, I would get $1. By putting in Basketball Equity, I was able to purchase the ball in 3 months.That basketball became my pride and joy because I cherished the fact that I worked hard and purchased it, instead of stealing it.

One day, I took my new ball with me to the park and sat it to the side, so I didn’t ruin it by bouncing it on the concrete while playing. After playing 12 games, I walked over to where my ball had been sitting, and it was gone. My heart sank as I frantically looked for it. I asked people if they had seen it, and everyone said “No.” I thought to myself “WHY YOU HATE HATE ME!” and that would become my Basketball Equity Moment.

IT'S NOT FUNNY NOW!

I'll be honest, I cried over that basketball. I had worked tirelessly to come up with the money to purchase it, and now it was gone. As I mourned my ball, I thought about the blue hatchback. I ruminated on the long hours that individual may have worked to receive those speakers. I considered how maybe those speakers were given to him or her by parents who worked hard to show their appreciation. The pain of my Basketball Equity Moment taught me to empathize with other people because you never know when you may have to put on their shoes.

AVOID IT!

This leads me to a question for you - are you displaying empathy for others? If not, avoid having to go through your own Basketball Equity Moment by being considerate of others. You don't want somebody else to steal from you for you to understand that taking from others can hurt them. It's not necessary for someone to be disrespectful to you in order for you to comprehend how hurtful disrespect can be.

You don't need to experience a Basketball Equity Moment in order to show empathy towards others. I hope that, after reading this, you choose to display empathy towards others instead of going through a Basketball Equity Moment because You Are WORTHY TO BE GREAT!