TEXAS STATE SENATOR KONNI BURTON AND OLYMPIC ARTIST STEVE R. ALLEN UNITE IN THE LAUNCH THE FORT WORTH MIDNIGHT BASKETBALL LEAGUE AND REAL DADS READ CHALLENGE.
CONTACT: Rev. Kyev Tatum, 817-966-7625, kptatum1@gmail.com
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – Great news, UNT Eagle and TEXAS State Senator Konni Burton and Olympic Artist Steve R. Allen of Atlanta team up with UNT Alumni to launch the Fort Worth Association of Midnight Basketball League.
Senator Burton: See it on Facebook
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10213607980489731&id=1109915311
Olympic Artist Steve R. Allen
OLYMPIC ARTIST DESIGNS LOCAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE’S JERSEYS
For Immediate Release
October 09, 2017
CONTACT: Pastor Kyev Tatum
Phone: 817-966-7625 Email: kptatum1@gmail.com
When Fort Worth Pastor Kyev Tatum met Steve R. Allen in Atlanta recently, he did not realize he was speaking to an internationally renowned Olympic artist.
“We talked about life and how he had been reared in a one-room house,” says Pastor Tatum. “It is amazing how God allows us to be born in humble beginnings and to grow up to become internationally recognized and respected.”
The Fort Worth pastor and Mr. Allen now are teamed together: The artist has designed the logo and image for the Fort Worth Association of Midnight Basketball League’s team jerseys. The image also will be used as the league’s official logo and will appear on league merchandise.
“Mr. Allen is a gracious genius who is an excellent role model for our young men to get to know and love. His story is a testament that it’s not where you begin, but how you end,” Pastor Tatum says. “Mr. Allen is a true testimony to the Goodness of God. His work is displayed around the world. Now, we all can have a piece of his heart.”
The new league logo features a passionate player leaping on one leg, gripping a basketball and appearing to be headed for a layup. Written on the athlete’s shirt are the words “Fort Worth, Texas.” A scene of a starry night appears above the city’s name. The player emerges from a circle around which are written the words “Midnight League.”
Mr. Allen is known internationally as sports artist.
He was the “Official Artist” for the host city of Atlanta during the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, the 1996 Centennial Olympic Summer Games. Following the 1996 Summer Games, Mr. Allen then worked with the United States Olympic Committee creating pieces for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Among his most celebrated pieces of art are Coming Full Circle (Return to Athens) which the International Olympic Committee commissioned and used as its official art for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens.
Currently, four of Mr. Allen’s paintings, including one featuring former President Barack Obama, are part of a permanent collection in the recently-opened Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Allen agreed to design the local league’s jerseys in an effort to give back.
“I am truly honored to help these young people shine as brightly as the brightest star,” says Mr. Alllen, who lives in Atlanta. “People helped and believed in me and I honor them by doing the same.”
For more information on how you can support the Fort Worth Association of Midnight Basketball League, to volunteer or to purchase commemorative collector’s edition jerseys, contact Pastor Tatum at (817) 966-7625 or kptatum1@gmail.com
