Using Sports to Point to Peace

This time on Peace Talks Radio, how sports can be used to point to peace. While sports headlines these days are as much about pro football players facing domestic violence,  child abuse, shooting crime charges and crippling game injuries, there are still examples of the potential for sports to bring together athletes from all ethnicities, nationalities and sexual preferences to bond and celebrate the fun, skill and mutual respect of sport.  We spotlight an annual sporting event that on the surface may seem sort of small – a two day summer basketball camp in the border city of El Paso, Texas.  But the hearts behind the camp seem sort of large and the perspective the camp offers is sort of large too.  Carol Boss talked with Rus Bradburd, one of the directors of "Basketball In The Barrio." Bradburd is a former collegiate basketball player and coach who both loves sports, sees some potential for good in it, but also doesn’t especially like where sports has come to sit in the order of priorities.  He was led to use sports as an avenue to teach other lessons in establishing his annual camp. Also, we visit with Doug Harris, the executive director of the Athletes United for Peace, the camp’s parent organization, about other initiatives that use sports to promote unity, diplomacy and peace.   Plus, a conversation with former collegiate basketball star and NBA player, Len Elmore, who also believes in the uniting power of sports, but wishes its pro athletes would speak up MORE often on social justice and peace issues. Carol Boss and Paul Ingles host.