CAVS,
Thank you. Let us say that before we say anything else.
This aspiring league began as one unpolished all-Muslim youth basketball team in the Fall of 2013, because we realized if we did not give our youth some organized extracurricular activity we were going to have a long, rough winter. Around that same time a man in Miami, FL decided he wanted to come back home to Northeast USA, Ohio to be exact. His name was Lebron to be exact.
I remember wanting to reward our guys who loved this new league of their own with a surprise: “We are going to Cleveland since Lebron is back!” But after seeing our participating families struggle to pay for uniforms it became clear paying for CAVS tickets and transportation were not going to happen. Or so we thought.
It was the help from CAVS owner himself Dan Gilbert and then the dedicated Q Assist team that allowed us to not only make it to a game, but unto the CAVS floor during our first ever Q arena pregame tour.
We grew from 25 staff and players that first game to 100 participants two years later.
Fast forward to 2018 where our newest youth (a few from then, mostly new members) actually got to meet Lebron this past March, as part of the special CAVS Hi5 tunnel group. And with that it seemed like our initial mission was fulfilled. This was the phenomenon that made us want to head to Ohio in the first place, Lebron James!
Yes he was. But it is not him that will keep us coming back…that credit goes to you, the CAVS organization. You have never wavered in giving us a great experience for these past four years. And so again, we thank you.
His recent announcement and departure does not signal ours, if anything it does the opposite. Now it’s time to show our appreciation because it is moments like these that show us all who are true supporters and who was just along for the ride. WNYYMBL of Western NY will continue to be supporters and regional business partners of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thank you,
Shaheed Ali
WNYYMBL, executive director
P.S. Dear site visitor, thanks for reading our “Letter to the CAVS”. Below is actually a “Letter from the CAVS to WNYYMBL” dating back to Summer 2017. We posted it in out newsletter the following winter.
WNYYMBL 