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News 12 Staff

810spotlightnj2_2024-08-10-11-00-40

Yes, we are talking about the Harlem Globetrotters and the experience that is coming to American Dream Mall. Keith Dawkins is the president and CEO of Rajah Porter. Of course, you can see is one of the team players, where is this gonna be set up in the mall? And how? Yeah, so they have a multi purpose area um at American Dream when I say multi purpose sometimes is ice skating rink depending upon who they have in there. Um They've done other basketball events, right? So we'll have a full size regulation or partners in Spalding, right? We'll have um uh they'll be part of the mix as well, holds 2000 people in the venue in the space where we are. So folks gotta get their tickets because tickets are running out with that kind of capacity, right? Um So we're just super excited to be able to bring this experience to the fans in a very unique way. What is the opening day and event gonna be like, it should be very, very, very crowded in Madison, right? Um Sales are are moving. Um they also have a lot of walk up traffic, right? So people will be in the, in the uh in the experience, right? They'll be buying merch the merchandise stand. That's right there adjacent in our pop up shop. So we expect a combination of people are buying tickets now at a feverish pace. We expect a lot of people to be walking up day of and be like, hey, what's going on here and see if they see if they get out of the next. You all are used to playing all over the world. What is this like being in a residency for a while? I know definitely different. Like you said, we travel all over the world, we travel to 100 and 24 countries and territories. So this is gonna be something definitely different. Um But I think just one thing, I mean, one thing is just gonna be us being ourselves bringing whatever we brought to from international over to here and let them experience everything that we have, you know, so it's gonna be different. Um But it's gonna be amazing. What do you bring yourself? Oh, what I bring. OK. So like am I supposed to see? I'm one of the best dribblers on the team and I'm your friendly neighborhood sister to my 9 billion brothers on my team, but you guys will see that. Um But not only that, like I bring my personality and I love to dance. I love to dance. So I think I'm just gonna show my skill set. Um, and just my energy, my energy for sure. Do these nine brothers take care of you? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, you know, listen, they, they, the, the veterans who, like they were really, you know, adopt an ace because of the work she brings to the table. Right? Um, she just embodies the spirit of what it means to a Globe shots going into her second year. But you see it through energy, through her, smile, through her enthusiasm, all the kind of the goodwill nature of the girl with the work, she put the work in and keeps improving her skills and keeps improving her everything, right? And, and the all the players um really respond to that.

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810spotlightnj3_2024-08-10-12-35-02

From August 16 to the 25th. You can enjoy the first ever sports residency at the American Dream Mall with the Harlem Globetrotters. Keith Dawkins is president and Ceo Arija Ace Porter is one of the team players. I always wanna make sure I would get her name out, right. Tell me about the history of the Globetrotters. Yeah, it's pretty special, you know, we're coming up on our 100 year anniversary in 2026. Thank you. Um So when you think about a franchise, almost 100 years old, born out of Chicago, Abe Saperstein is the founder of the Harlem Globetrotters. Um And when I think about the evolution of players like Sweet Lou Dunbar, who's one of our icons on the team now and having this team that, you know, for me, it kind of represents uh diversity inclusion before anyone was even using that term, right? Barnstorming and performing all through kind of the segregated Jim Crow South, getting us all the way to where we are today where now we have nine women that we've had on the team, which was a big part of, you know, our kind of mission when we started, right. That's more than we've ever had in the history of the Globetrotters franchise, right? So being able to see that type of visible diversity, see the type of impact that we have bring people of all ilks of life together, who wanna argue about everything away from where when they come to a Globetrotters game, you bring everybody together and that's a pretty magical journey when you think about from where it started to where it is today. Um And now really just kind of modernizing this brand and take it from a tour only experience to doing things like this, right? We have a show on NBC H. Globetrotter has played for, it's been nominated for two Emmys, right season plays on Telemundo. We have great licensing partners like IMG and Spalding and Jersey Mikes are um official tour partner. We traveled the globe, right? You know, 250 tour dates in North America, another 150 tour dates around the rest of the globe. So it's really just a, a really a magical thing and we're growing and we're growing almost 100 year old start up as well, but it was supposed to be called the New York Globe Trotters. Yeah. And then, you know, Harlem has a little Jairo about it, right? I mean, people like the people like to think of the Harlem, the Harlem Renaissance, right? So it's a big idea and kind of transitioning to that and Globe trotters when we travel the globe. Right.

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811spotlightnj4_2024-08-11-09-28-37

Oh, Raja Ace Porter has been with the Harlem Globetrotters for two years. Isn't she talented? She is here in studio right now with Keith Dawkins, who is the president and CEO of the Harlem Globetrotters. Girl, you are talented. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it but hard work. Look, I worked on it every day. I put the time in, put the practice in. Um But that's just all the results coming together. How did you know you wanted to be a member of the team? Oh my gosh. So I always knew about them. Um But after I was done playing um overseas, um I kinda just got the call because there, there's like a, a year round recruiter, right? And they saw that how well I handled the ball, how good I took care of it. Um And they just flew me out for the trial, but as I understood their purpose of, you know, just spreading joy, putting smiles on people's faces, bringing families together. Um I think that's just what resonated that ever since then, that's how I knew I fit in. Hence the nickname Joy that people like to call you. You have another life or career, which is a substitute teacher. Oh. How do the kids love you in the classroom? Do they know who you are? Yes, some do. But some don't. I try not to, like, put it out there. Of course, I'm proud of it. Um, but sometimes I think it distracts them from, like, their work. But I tell them afterwards or if I have a ball around in the gym, like, I'll spend it on the finger and make their day. Um But I let's go crazy but it's insane. Run around the screaming like look what I can do. Look what I can do, they try to do it. But um but it's also, I think just being around the kids, like I'm kind of like minded like I like to be on like their level and how they think so they can get in like with the message I'm trying to spread to them, you know, just to stay in school, how important it is. Um And just make sure that they know that whatever career or what passion they wanna get into, like they should work hard at it as well and it's gonna take them through the roof and your family be proud of you. Oh, what the best support system that I have. Of course my family, they um you know, they support me even if I wanted to be something else, whether it be of a gardener or a trash woman. I don't know, but they support me in anything. I think that's the biggest thing about it is this family but not only them, of course, my teammates, um, you know, and the people in this organization, like they're just as much as family as my family as well. So I think that's like a huge part of it.

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811spotlightnoon_2024-08-11-09-27-50

Keith Dawkins is president and CEO of the Harlem Globetrotters. He's also a news 12 alum. Right. Yes. What did you do here? I was a general assignment reporter for a nanosecond time. I wanted to be you. But you know, it didn't work out for me. So I thought, honey, at this point, I think I wanna be you anyway. So how did you go from here to there? Yeah. You know, I'm a lifelong media entertainment guy. So, you know, in that part of my life, I always tell people I was kind of like a producer maker or something guy. You know, general assignment reporter went over to uh uh uh Fox News channel from like launch to about 3.5 years in there was a producer there and then I went over to Viacom, VH1 and Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon. I spent 14 years of my 17 years at Viacom now Paramount. And that's why I became a suit so to speak. I was running the day to day operations of a few of their channels there. Nick tunes to Nick. Nick Junior channels and um launched a sports initiative there. And so just built this V entertainment career and PGA tour after that and Roll Golf Foundation have my own company and all these roads kind of lead to kind of where we are now. And it's about just bringing the depth and breadth of all of that experience and still end up with the Globetrotters recruiter reached out and actually I knew some of the people who were working there prior, but a recruiter reached out and, you know, I just couldn't believe it because listen, I, a kid I grew up on Globetrotters, right when the world was simpler and they were on Scooby Doo and the lunch box and Wild Sports. And so I remember saying to my wife, I was like, I don't know where this is gonna go. I was like, but I gotta chase this opportunity because it's the Harlem Globetrotters. I, it was like a part of my upbringing, a part of my growing up. Um There weren't a lot of faces that looked like mine on TV at the time, like being excellent and being awesome. So I got to see Curly and Metal Arc bla I was like, if they'll have me, we'll see, we're gonna make this happen. They had me, we gonna happen here. We are. You are from Ridgewood. How does your family love what you're doing? Oh, they love it. I mean, listen, you know, my boys, uh I have two sons now. I mean, they're like essentially grown men, but you know, they grew up with me at the Nickelodeon time when they were kids and they love that they're athletes and love sports. And so does my wife and everyone loves sports. So they love this opportunity that I have here. And I think, you know, just really what they love is, um, they love my passion for it, my joy that they see in it. They love coming to the games, they love meeting the players. They see the impact of the Harlem Glower chatters have on people's lives. And so just being able to have a job that quite frankly didn't feel like a job. I mean, we work hard but we just love what we do. It's just, it's just genuine, we love it and we love the impact it has on people. Um So it's, it's just, it's like a dream, it's a dream gig.

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811spotlightnj6_2024-08-11-12-24-30

News. 12 viewers. You are about to get a taste of the Harlem Globetrotters experience. Yes. Over here with Ace Porter affectionately known as Joy. She is gonna show her stuff. Go for it. Oh, come on a little chop out there. What? Oh wow, that is really good. Thank you so much. Perhaps I'm gonna show you. You do you over here. She wants me to step over here. OK? Hold one finger like this awesome straight up. Nice and strong. OK. Nice and strong and I'm scared to death. You ready? You got it. Oh My God, you flatten my nail and it was I love it. Don't go anywhere. I got you. That's awesome. Thank you so much. Two years you have been with the team. Yes, ma'am. Yes, you love it. What I love it is awesome. I mean, it's I'm representing such an iconic and historic brand. So you know, I'm just doing my thing using my personality and spreading joy to everybody as we go in our shows. So you said you saw something in the stands one time that made you realize that you are an inspiration with a father and son. Tell me about that. So, um I was playing probably in warm ups and I look in the stands and there was a father and a son that was wearing my jersey and all I could think about was like, wow, like I made an impact where they actually went to the merchandise stand and bought my jersey. See, like little stuff like that is just like purpose that makes me just go hard every day. So, and what is your message to all these people who are inspired by you? Oh my gosh. I think the main message is to be yourself. You know, I'm being myself while doing this. I'm having fun while doing it as well. I think that's super important. Um But other than that, I think it's just to be yourself, do your thing, you know, and be confident in it, be confident in your passion, but as well just try to be contagious to other, giving joy to other people as well. So let's bring in, oh my God. Love this love. Thank you. Thank you.

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President Keith Dawkins and player Arysia Porter joined News 12’s Della Crews to discuss the residency.

Spotlight New Jersey: The Harlem Globe Trotters

President Keith Dawkins and player Arysia Porter joined News 12’s Della Crews to discuss the residency.

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