Annual fundraising event and game in Olive Branch set for June 14
Photo: Olive Branch native and Super Bowl winner KJ Wright leads the the Wright Way Foundation to teach youngsters about financial literacy with athletics. (Courtesy photo)
A renewal of an old, and at one time heated, high school rivalry brings alumni basketball players from Olive Branch and Byhalia back together again this June for a cause.
Olive Branch native and retired NFL Super Bowl-winning linebacker KJ Wright and his Wright Way Foundation will hold the annual Alumni Charity Basketball Game, June 14 at Olive Branch High School’s Charlie Bibbs Gymnasium. Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. and the games will tip off at 6 p.m. with the women first, followed by the men’s game.
Wright started the Wright Way Foundation two years ago to help youngsters in an area he felt was important for them to learn more about: financial literacy, adding sports as a vehicle to grow off and on the field. The foundation is active in the Olive Branch and Seattle areas, where he played much of the pro football career.
“I’m personally passionate about financial literacy and student athletes,” Wright said. “So many kids and so many people have to learn about finances the hard way. They learn it as an adult and then they have to learn it the hard way.”
On the athletic side, Wright said he has started a Wright Way AAU basketball team in Olive Branch.
“I really just want to really get kids active, get them off their iPads, and give the kids the chance to be seen and get scholarships and go to college one day,” Wright said. “I’m heavily involved and I’m glad that I could have an imprint in Olive Branch.”
Money raised from the June game, which has sold out the gymnasium in the past, will be split evenly between Olive Branch and Byhalia schools, with Wright’s goal being $20,000 for each. He expects the contests will be a good reflection of what he said was, at one time, a bitter basketball rivalry between the two schools.
“This goes back to when my grandparents were going to school, and so, just to recreate it, the fans want to see it,” said Wright. “All the players are excited about it and the money will be split right down the middle.”
Wright added that at one time, the schools stopped playing each other because the games got so heated.
Away from the basketball court, the June 14 event will have activities outside with live music and food trucks to help add to the festive atmosphere.
The alumni charity basketball game has a special meaning to Wright, who grew up in Olive Branch, and played for the Conquistadors before starring in football at Mississippi State and then to the NFL. This past season, Wright was the linebacker assistant coach/defensive quality control coach of the San Francisco 49ers, but home remains dear to his heart.
“My teachers invested in me, my coaches invested in me, my family invested in me,” Wright explained. “There’s no way that I’m coaching right now, there’s no way I played in the NFL and there’s no way I made it to college if it weren’t for Olive Branch, Mississippi. My hometown means the world to me.”
Tickets for the game are $15 and will go on sale April 1 through the Wright Way Foundation website. Wright suggested fans get tickets online early because of the past interest and high demand for them, but added available tickets will also be on sale at the door.
