I grew up in the Hollywood Brooks Housing Projects in Bankhead—northwest Atlanta—in the mid-70s through the late-80s. Life wasn’t easy. Crime was high, poverty was heavy, and racial inequity ran deep—rooted in policies that systematically disenfranchised Black families in our city.
Still, I admired law enforcement.
That admiration came from a campaign called Officer Friendly. Officers would visit our schools with warm smiles, firm handshakes, and a message: “We’re here to protect and serve.” That stuck with me. For a time, I even dreamed of becoming a police officer. I wanted to wear the blue and protect the city that raised me.
Eventually, that dream shifted—baseball took hold of my heart. I didn’t end up wearing the blue of law enforcement, but I did wear the blue of the Chicago Cubs.
And I got there with the help of one man: Officer Thomas Wilson—better known as Coach TJ.
He was an officer with the Atlanta Police Department, but to me, he was a mentor, an advocate, and a life-changer. He paid for my first batting lessons with Denny Pritchett. He drove me to Cubs workouts. He stood in the gap and believed in me before I believed in myself.
At just 14 years old in 1990, I attended my first Chicago Cubs tryout because of Coach TJ. I trained with the Cubs for several years, and in 1994, I was drafted by them. That moment changed the course of my life—and it all began with an Atlanta police officer who cared.
That’s why the 11th Annual Safe at Home Game means so much to me.
This game brings together our LEAD Ambassadors—Black boys from inner-city Atlanta—with officers from the Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta Public Schools Police Department, Georgia Tech Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI Atlanta Branch for a 7-inning, self-officiated baseball game.
The 11th Safe at Home Game will be held on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at Georgia Tech’s Russ Chandler Stadium.
But it’s more than baseball. It’s about building bridges. It’s about trust, respect, and connection between two communities that have too often been divided.
I’ll be playing again this year. And I hope Atlanta shows up.
My vision is for a new generation of Black boys to grow up and proudly serve in law enforcement—especially with the City of Atlanta Police Department. I want them to protect our city the way this city has protected me. I know not every officer lives up to the oath, but I also know—from lived experience—that the good far outweighs the bad.
Coach TJ was one of the good ones. And through our work at LEAD, we’re developing more of the good—young men who are gainfully employed, civically engaged, and radical philanthropists.
That’s what Safe at Home is about.
One field. One city. One mission—to bridge the gap and build a better Atlanta.
Let’s play ball.
