The "Path to Manhood Charity Basketball Game" will take place on Aug. 13 at the Dunbar Y Community Center and feature Brown, Swan and Neal, so far.
U.S. Congressman Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, has thrown his hat into a charity basketball game to benefit two organizations in the city that birthed the game. More politics news
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Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren will sit down with MassLive.com readers on Friday, Aug. 3 at 1:30 p.m. to take questions on any topic, as she aims to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in the November election.Although it hasn't been revealed which team he will be playing for, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Richard Neal has dribbled his way into a charity basketball challenge initially billed as a showdown between Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Springfield NAACP President Rev. Talbert Swan II.
The "Path to Manhood Charity Basketball Game" will take place on Aug. 13 at the Dunbar Y Community Center, and feature Brown, a former Tufts University basketball player, leading a team of adults against another led by Swan, while Neal will join one of the opposing teams.
The game is the brainchild of an unlikely meeting between the junior senator and the community activist which will benefit two charitable organizations that aim to make a difference with the youth in Springfield.
The Path to Manhood male mentoring program works to place at-risk youth with a mentor in the community who provides advice and assistance both personally and through education to increase their chances of attaining a positive future and avoiding the pitfalls of gangs and drugs.
The South End Community Center, which was partially destroyed by the June 2011 tornado, will also benefit from the money raised at the event.
And although Neal said he hasn't played basketball competitively in years, he did note that two of his sons have played Division 1 NCAA ball.
His oldest son, Rory, played for Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., while his youngest son, Sean, played at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, Pa., where he is now the director of basketball operations.
View full sizeThe Path to Manhood charity basketball game will take place on Aug. 13, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. at the Dunbar Y Community Center, located at 33 Oak St., which is off of State Street in Springfield. The game will feature one team, led by U.S. Sen. Scott Brown taking on another, headed by Springfield NAACP President, the Rev. Talbert Swan II."It will be fun to be out there with Senator Brown and Rev. Swan. I know they both have some game," Neal said in a statement. "For years, I have watched my sons play basketball at Dunbar. Now I will finally have a chance to finally take the court and shoot some hoops. More importantly, the game supports two local charities that make a difference in Springfield."
Neal's Washington office said that when the congressman's schedule allows, he can be found practicing his jump shot at the YMCA on Chestnut Street in the city.
Brown and Neal may not be the only politicians joining in the action as Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, City Councilor Melvin Edwards and State Sen. James Welch have also been invited, according to Swan.
The event will open with a competition between youth teams representing the South End Community Center and the Dunbar Y Community Center. Following that game, community groups will perform and then the adult game will take place.
Tickets to the game are $10 each and can be purchased the day of the event.
The game will take place on Monday, Aug. 13, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. at the Dunbar Y Community Center, located at 33 Oak St., which is off of State Street in Springfield.
Neal, the U.S. representative for the 2nd Congressional District in Massachusetts since 1989, is in a three-way Democratic primary against former State Sen. Andrea Nuciforo Jr. and political activist Bill Shein to represent the newly drawn 1st Congressional District. There are no Republican challengers for the seat.
Brown, who won a 2010 special election to serve the remainder of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy's senate term, is battling Democrat Elizabeth Warren to earn a full six-year term.