To combat bullying and gang violence, metro sheriffs turning to football

With children gaining independence as they prepare to enter high school, some become more susceptible to bullying and gang activity. David Jones, the chief of staff for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, said he has seen that vulnerability of middle schoolers with his own eyes.

Jones also hears about it from school principals who interact daily with the children facing these issues, many of whom are boys.

“They’ve let us know that stats show that in the seventh grade you get a lot of your beginning of the gang activity and just being part of the wrong crowd,” Jones said.

Three sheriff’s offices in metro Atlanta are trying to intercept that problem — with football.

Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties have teamed up to host the third annual Sheriff’s Cup Football Tournament on Saturday at McEachern High School in Powder Springs. The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is aimed at positively influencing middle school boys.

The tournament will be round-robin style and include three seventh grade teams: Mill Creek Hawks, Adamsville Vikings and McEachern Junior Indians.

Deputies from the three counties will speak with the players directly about being leaders in their communities, rather than giving into gang and bullying behavior, which is most common in middle school. That’s because, as kids transition from childhood to adolescence, social circles become increasingly important, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Ahead of the tournament, a banquet for the coaches, parents and players of all three teams will be held Friday night. At the dinner, former NFL players will speak about how they overcame bullying and avoided engaging in gang activity.

Credit: Score Atlanta

While Jones, who serves as a mentor on Tuesday and Thursday mornings with the Marietta and Cobb school districts, did not have specific statistics on gang and bullying involvement, he said the goal is to prevent those behaviors before they happen. The efforts are aimed at encouraging young boys to get involved with sports and keep them focused on learning in school.

“Kids that don’t have any extracurricular activity, any type of sports or other things that they’re involved in, typically find themselves maybe drawing toward the wrong crowd, and that’s gangs,” Jones said.

Often, children fall into those crowds due to a tumultuous home life, according to the National Library of Medicine. It affects their decision-making ability and predicts risky behavior.

Those traumatic experiences that occur before the age of 17 have impacts on health and wellbeing into adulthood, including in education and job success, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Consequently, efforts to prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, before they occur can have positive long-term effects and keep students on track through graduation.

Jones said the football tournament comes at an opportune time with school starting again. Atlanta Public Schools, Gwinnett Schools and Cobb Schools started Thursday. Fulton and DeKalb begin next week.

“Hopefully the kids will really be able to get something out of it, and when they start school, take that back with them,” Jones said.

In addition to the tournament, Jones said Cobb community engagement officers go to schools each week to speak about gang violence, gun safety and a variety of other safety practices. He said they are in the process of setting up a mentoring program through the Cobb Sheriff’s Office.

Jones said the feedback from middle school administrators about endeavors such as these have been positive “because every little bit counts.”

Tickets for the tournament are $10 and can be purchased online .

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