Best Of 2020

Throughout the past year, scores of current and former local athletes and coaches have taken active roles in the fight against COVID-19 and for social justice. These are just a few of their stories. 

All comments were made to PressBox unless otherwise noted.

Joel Gamble and Tavon Mason

Something that perhaps still gets lost in the racial justice conversation is the continued need for representation.

One area where people might not think about representation is in kids’ superhero books.

Former NFL tight end Joel Gamble (who played at Carver and now teaches at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts in Dundalk) and former NFL wide receiver Tavon Mason (now the head coach at Woodlawn, where he also starred as a player) wrote and pushed to fund a new kids’ book called “The Justice Duo” to allow young Black children to see more of themselves in literature.

“We’re both educators in the school system in Baltimore County,” Gamble said in August. “By us being educators and seeing what the kids are reading on a daily basis in the school system and the libraries, we don’t see a representation of ourselves.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Joel Gambel and Tavon Mason

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Plus: Check out PressBox’s 2020 Mo Gaba Sportsperson of the Year, Trey Mancini.

Trey Mancini

PressBox

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