For Tylia Gillespie, stepping onto the basketball court at Forbes Arena carried a meaning beyond competition. Her participation on Saturday followed a long recovery from a serious car crash and marked another return to the sport she had loved since childhood.
“I had to learn how to walk and talk again, so it’s just a blessing and an honor to be able to do what I love to do again,” Gillespie said.
Raised in an athletic family, Gillespie grew up competing in multiple sports. That lifelong connection brought her to Forbes Arena Saturday for the Association of Midnight Basketball’s 40th Anniversary National Summit and Basketball Tournament.
Before the tournament, attendees participated in the Broken Crayons Still Color Youth Safety and Mental Health Summit. Hosted by Love From Afar: The Christopher Allen Williams Foundation in partnership with Midnight Basketball, the youth-focused program promotes mental health, safety awareness and better decision-making through education, community resources and immersive experiences.
Athletes, families, community organizations and public safety officials came together inside Forbes Arena for a day centered on the consequences of dangerous decisions and the possibilities of resilience.
The summit started with a mock vehicle crash involving Atlanta Fire Rescue and an emergency team. Participants moved through simulations of a funeral, criminal trial, incarceration and eventual reentry into society, illustrating how the consequences of decisions behind the wheel can extend beyond the driver to families and communities.
Founded by G. Van Standifer in Glenarden, Maryland, in 1986, Midnight Basketball began as an effort to provide young people with structured activities during late-night hours. Over the next four decades, the program expanded beyond basketball to incorporate mentorship, educational opportunities and life-skills programming in communities across the country.
Mayor Andre Dickens sponsored and helped launch a Teen Midnight Basketball League during his tenure on the Atlanta City Council in 2017. After becoming mayor, Dickens launched the city’s current Midnight Basketball League in March 2022 in collaboration with the Atlanta Police Department and the Department of Parks and Recreation as a public-safety initiative.
Community and safety at Morehouse
For Ron Elliott, the event’s documentary producer, Saturday was an opportunity to use basketball to address issues that extend into the community.
“Serving the community is, to me, everything,” Elliott said. “It’s family.”
Elliott described the summit and tournament’s community engagement efforts as an influence for young and older people through entertainment and education.
The Broken Crayons Still Color experience put that mission into practice by confronting young adults with how their decisions can affect themselves and those around them.
Elliott believes that distracted driving is one of the issues the community needs to address.
“In a good second, your life can be changed,” he said. “You affect the lives of other people, and it is something that could be avoided.”
He says Morehouse was a fitting location for that conversation.
Rather than hosting the anniversary in a professional sports arena, Elliott said the College offered a connection to the surrounding community and to Atlanta’s Black history.
“Morehouse represents more of a community, more of our culture,” he said. “Even the fact that Morehouse is such a prestigious school associated with Dr. King, one of my heroes, and so many other great leaders that come out of Morehouse. I think it’s fitting to me personally, that it would be in conjunction with Morehouse.”
Ultimately, Elliott hopes attendees left Forbes Arena with a renewed sense of camaraderie.
“I hope they understand that someone cares, and I hope they understand that there are people who actually want to see change and have answers to problems that you may be facing,” he said.
He believes the legacy of the event should extend beyond basketball by encouraging conversations surrounding mental health, responsibility and the consequences of personal choices.
By Saturday afternoon, the focus transitioned from the simulations to competition as the 40th Anniversary Midnight Basketball Games tipped off inside Forbes Arena.
From a car crash to the basketball court
Returning to basketball after the crash turned Gillespie’s participation on Saturday into more than just another opportunity to compete. Her recovery became part of the message she hopes attendees took with them.
“Because I know if I can do it, then anybody can really do it,” Gillespie said.
Her participation also highlighted another matter: the growing recognition of women in basketball. Her comments come as women’s basketball has experienced a surge in national popularity, with the WNBA reaching record levels of viewership and attendance in recent seasons.
“I just love how women’s basketball is starting to get more recognition,” she said.
Gillespie encouraged young girls who may see themselves entering the traditionally male-dominated space to not be deterred.
“Don’t get discouraged just because of some male-dominant sport,” Gillespie said. “Just go out there and do what you love to do.”
Her return to the basketball court demonstrated that decisions can change lives in an instant, but tragedy does not determine what comes next.
