MARIANNA, Fla. (WMBB) – Even with the pandemic, the Marianna boys basketball team has been able to boast an impressive 19-3 record in the regular season, so member of the community wanted to do something to show their support of the team.
Marianna’s Mayor Travis Ephraim and Bryon Dickens, the founder of 520 Forever Free Apparel, decided to team up and make some commemorative shirts for all the players.
The shirts were given to the Bulldogs on Thursday with their logo on it and #Accountability on the front, and the 520 Forever Free logo on the back.
It was a design the players all loved and appreciated.
“It means a lot for my team because as coaches and educators we try to bring positive people in to kind of teach them how to be respectful in the community, so to see the community give back to them it’s a big step in building those bonds,” Marianna head boys basketball coach Rico Williams said.
The shirts also gave a chance for Dickens to give the team a little history lesson.
“I wanted to do something to give to them. It was a perfect time being that it’s Black History Month, or American History as I call it, and to celebrate 5/20. May 20th, 1865 was the day that African-Americans in the state of Florida were emancipated,” Dickens said.
The company’s name, 520 Forever Free Apparel, was inspired by that day.
“The basketball players, they are leaders whether they want to admit it or not, they’re leaders in their school and in the community as well and they also represent not just Marianna High School, but the city of Marianna,” Mayor Ephraim said.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season on Thursday night with a win over Cottondale. They now get ready for the district tournament next week, which they are seeded No. 1 in.
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