CLEVELAND — On Friday, the NBA dedicated it’s 2,000th Live, Learn, or Play center at Cleveland's Cudell Recreation Center as part of All-Star Weekend.
It was a star-studded event that featured Cavs players, local leaders, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. But for many here in Cleveland, Cudell Recreation Center is synonymous with the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by police nearly eight years ago.
For a league so focused on social justice, Tamir Rice's mother, Samaria Rice, was disappointed that her son's name wasn't even mentioned during Friday's event.
"I got a lot of emotions going on right now because I had to be contacted at the last minute," Samaria Rice told 3News' Brandon Simmons. "And if somebody at the city knew about this they should have called me and prepared me for it. You know what I’m saying. It’s just disrespectful. Totally disrespect."
Samaria Rice says her family is still waiting for justice. She believes Friday would have been the perfect time for someone to speak up.
"People that can say something and get some change… and they don’t say nothing about my son?! But you want to have a ceremony over where he was murdered at. That’s disrespectful," she added.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb also attended Friday's event at Cudell Recreation Center. He says much of it was planned before he took office, adding that he did speak with Samaria earlier in the day.
"Moving forward, anything that we do at this rec center, we want to make sure it recognizes the legacy of Tamir Rice," Bibb said.
But it's a conversation that came a little too late.
"He didn’t have nothing to do with it, but he’s the mayor now. He got to say something," Samaria stated.
Bibb added that he wants to continue to uplift Tamir’s legacy going forward. But he also doesn’t want everyone to overlook impact these renovated spaces will have on kids in the community.
Previous Reporting:
- NBA dedicates its 2,000th Live, Learn, or Play center at Cleveland's Cudell Recreation Center
- Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice, holds rally outside the White House ahead of meeting with Justice Department officials
- Cleveland Metropolitan School District presents honorary diploma in remembrance of Tamir Rice