The first all-American-born cricket club has gone global.
The Compton Cricket Club, aka “The Homiez and the Popz,” has toured Australia, kicked it with Prince Edward at Buckingham Palace, and done a myriad of other things few could possibly have expected from a group of men from straight outta Compton.
Founded in 1995 by Ted Hayes, the team also travels the globe giving motivational speeches, runs an Orange County middle-school cricket program, and will even be training four members of the LAPD’s Counterterrorism and Special Operations bureau as part of their eventual goal to sponsor a team as a means of reaching Muslim youth.
Hayes’ son, Isaac, credits the sport with keeping him away from Compton gang culture:
[Cricket] takes guys who usually aren’t kind to each other and makes them say `Hi, nice to see you again’…It’s helped me see the world is bigger than my backyard.
Before Hollywood makes a schlocky, late summer feel-good picture on the project, it’d be wise to visit the club’s website to keep up on their happenings.
A. Darryl Moton is a high school debate coach, preschool bus driver, Black Iowan, and numerous other things that make you doubt his sanity. He currently rocks the bells in Portland, Oregon.
[Source: The LAist]