‘Carry a basketball not a blade’: Launch event held for knife crime campaign following fatal Northampton stabbings

A campaign encouraging young people to ‘carry a basketball not a blade’ was officially launched following two fatal stabbings in Northampton this year.

The chairman of Basketball Northants, a voluntary organisation promoting the sport across the county, was heavily touched by the incidents – particularly the passing of Fred Shand as he lives and has taught students in Kingsthorpe where the stabbing took place.

With the success of the organisation's ‘youth justice basketball project’ in engaging with vulnerable Northampton International Academy students, chair Martin Spencer knew there was the scope to do more.

Basketball player Andre Arissol is the face of the ‘carry a basketball not a blade’ campaign.

Andre spent the last season as a professional player for Worthing Thunder in the men’s National League Division 1 – as a result of his hard work since he started playing basketball in Northampton aged 13.

Having played for the England under 20s and with an impressive record at the age of just 26, Andre hopes to become a positive role model in encouraging young people to take up sport.

Last night’s event (June 20), hosted at Archways Real Estate, saw many individuals gather for the campaign launch – namely from the sport and charity sectors.

Addressing the room, Andre said: “The most important thing with this project is that when these kids finish school or come out of their households, they feel valued in the streets or by the elders that are leading them that way.”

When Andre was younger he faced a tough decision about what to do with his life, and he expressed his gratitude that his younger self chose to put his time and energy into basketball.

“I want to embody that responsibility to make kids feel valued through sport,” he said. “Sport is fun, cool and will provide for you and your family if you think that big.

“These are the same philosophies that young people think the streets will provide. I want to make sure it’s clear that it’s not the same.

“It is about being able to make them realise [the streets] are not sustainable and the damage it causes.”

Expressing love for his hometown, Andre said he cares about Northampton but is not naive to the fact that “we cannot change the world in a day”.

He believes it is about taking the campaign one day at a time, to change “the immediate and where we are now”.

“The main message is exactly what it says on the tin,” said Andre. “If I can make these kids pick up a basketball, feel confident and have that brotherhood that maybe they didn’t before.

“I gravitated towards basketball because there were 10 other guys that looked like me and a coach I could relate to as a father figure, mentor or brother – that’s what I was searching for inside.

“Where we can impact these kids is by bringing that, taking them under my wing, and putting them into basketball to feel appreciated and understand what it is like to actually work for something. I’m teaching these kids to fall forward, not back.”

The aim of the campaign is to work with as many schools as possible across Northampton, which will see Andre and Martin work with the students directly.

Through presentations, focus groups and making Andre a positive role model for the pupils to aspire to, there is hope that a real difference can be made.

To make this campaign a success, an online fundraising page was set up earlier this year – to fund branded merchandise to spread the message even further.

If any local businesses would like to support the campaign, Basketball Northants can be contacted via [email protected].

To visit the online fundraising page and make a donation, click here.