Group asks NRPA members to Sunset Midnight Basketball.

The Association of Midnight Basketball Midnight basketball was a 1990s initiative to curb inner-city crime in the United States by keeping urban youth off the streets and engaging them with alternatives to drugs and crime. League Programs, Inc., (AMBLP) contacted NRPA NRPA National Recreation and Park Association
NRPA Natural Resources Protective Association (Staten Island, NY)
NRPA Niagara Regional Police Association (Canada)
NRPA National Rifle and Pistol Association headquarters in early August asking our members to cease and desist Cease and desist (also called C & D) is a legal term used primarily in the United States which essentially means "to halt" or "to end" an action ("cease") and to refrain from doing it again in the future ("desist"). on all uses of the term, "midnight basketball." The term had been trademarked by the non-profit organization A non-profit organization (abbreviated "NPO", also "non-profit" or "not-for-profit") is a legally constituted organization whose primary objective is to support or to actively engage in activities of public or private interest without any commercial or monetary profit purposes. since 1992, according to according to
prep.
1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.

2. In keeping with: according to instructions.

3. the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

AMBLP's law firm, the Burrell Law Office, has sent letters to park and recreation departments around the country, implying that AMBLP is developing a partnership with NRPA. According to NRPA Executive Director John Thorner, "There are no plans for a partnership."

AMBLP was formed in 2004 as a blanket organization to oversee nationwide chapters of its basketball programs. These programs use basketball as a tool to decrease the crime rate in cities by attracting youth, ages 17-25, to indoor basketball leagues This is a list of current and defunct Basketball Leagues. Current Leagues
The league names are listed below. Men's Leagues

Leagues from the U.S., Canada, Mexico

ABA - American Basketball Association (Official Page)

. Once inside, participants are educated about health, employment and education opportunities, case management, cultural enrichment and, of course, recreation. In order to protect the group's programming and agenda, it trademarked its logo and phrase, "midnight basketball." "We do not want recreation and park to stop doing the great job they have been doing, we want them to join us and implement our program the way it is designed," wrote AMBLP CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and President Lawrence C Gray, Jr.

NRPA legal counsel James C. Kozlowski suggests NRPA members to use an alternative phrase, which would more closely associate with their programs. For example, the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department developed the Mayor's Night Hoops program, which aims to decrease youth crime prevention through late-night recreation and education. "The use of the term 'midnight basketball' by local parks and recreation agencies would be like their using the term 'little league' to refer to their sandlot baseball leagues," Kozlowski said. "Clearly, this would cause confusion and leave the reasonable observer to think that a local park and rec league would be endorsed by Little League, Inc., when in fact it isn't."

Did you know that there was a 166 percent increase in participation of telemark skiing in the last six years?

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Title Annotation:	Tip-Off: NEWS FROM THE FIELD; National Recreation and Park Association; Midnight Basketball League Programs, Inc
Publication:	Parks & Recreation
Geographic Code:	1USA
Date:	Oct 1, 2005
Words:	339
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