Set to break a tie on the home team, Uncle Luke and his Liberty City Optimist Warriors headed to the City of Angels to beat Snoop Dogg and the Snoop’s Youth Football team.
It’s rapper against rapper. It’s going to be Warriors versus Snoop’s for a youth league gridiron showdown. On Friday, The Liberty City Optimist Warriors, led by rap icon Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, boarded a plane to Los Angeles, California to head to the game against Snoop’s Youth Football team, led by west coast rap legend Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus Jr. The Warriors
are set to play Snoop’s Youth Football team Saturday for a series tiebreaker. The series currently stands at 1-1.
The Warriors youth league football team is part of the Liberty City Optimist Club, co-founded by Campbell. The team consists of players ages 9 to 12 years old. The nonprofit organization, which sees Campbell as its president, uses football and athletics to enhance the character and development of Liberty City children through intramural sports and supportive activities.
Many of the Warriors are enrolled at Olinda Elementary School and have never ventured outside of city limits. For some, this trip would mark the first time ever being on a plane.
“For me to be able to get them to Los Angeles, that is a beautiful thing,” Campbell said. “Taking some kids from Liberty City to LA. Can you believe that? This will be impressionable to them for the rest of their lives.”
Miami-Dade County Public Schools board member, Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, who oversees the district in which Olinda is located, echoed Campbell’s words.
“[Campbell] is giving the children of Liberty City a worldview,” Bendross-Mindingall said. “They would not have this experience if it were not for him. He has taught them to run, and now he has shown them they can fly.”
“I feel good,” said 10-year-old defensive tackle, Hakeem Brooks, as he waited to check in his luggage at Miami International Airport. “Snoop Dogg better be ready! During the game we are enemies but after the game we are friends.”
In previous games, the West Coast rapper traveled with his team to play Campbell’s Warriors locally.
“We have had a rivalry for a long time,” Campbell said. “Now we are going to go settle the record.”
The two iconic rappers got caught up in hip-hop’s West Coast Vs. East Coast rivalry of the early and mid 90’s. The rappers have traded diss records and choice words in the past. Now, the rappers turned football coaches are focused on using the sport to benefit the children. “Coach Snoop that’s my man,” he said. “He is good people [sic].”
However, he said the main point is for the players to have fun and enjoy themselves.
“That’s what it is all about,” he said. After the game, the team is slated to sightsee in Los Angeles. “[On] Sunday, we are going to have a good time,” Campbell said.
The Liberty City Optimist Warriors were the subject of a six-part docu-series, which aired on the Starz network. “The Warriors of Liberty City,” which premiered in September, details Campbell’s use of football as a platform for community activism.
For more than 25 years, Campbell has aided the development of the neighborhood children, motivating them to excel both on and off the field. Many high caliber players have worn the Liberty City Optimist Warriors uniform. NFL stars like Chad Ochocinco, Teddy Bridgewater and Antonio Brown played for the program in their youth.
So did the current Miami City Commissioner Keon Hardemon.
Hardemon, who appears in the Starz docu-series, is another success story of Campbell’s youth football program.
Hardemon will fly to Los Angeles to cheer for the Warriors as they face Snoop’s Youth Football team Saturday night.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News