Pontiac basketball tourney held after controversy scraps original date

An annual Pontiac tournament that, earlier this summer, was canceled by city officials and then scuttled by law enforcement was rescheduled for Saturday and shows how folks, in sports and politics, can work out their differences.

The event was even praised by Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel, who, last month ordered it to be shut down.

"Great Battle of I-75 Basketball Tournament at Beaudette Park today!" Greimel posted to Facebook, with photos of himself at the tournament. He added that he appreciated event organizer "Dennis Thompson and his team doing it the right way and getting all necessary permits and documentation squared away!"

Paperwork or a lack of it, the mayor had said, is what prevented the event from going forward in July.

In turn, Thompson — and his two fellow event organizers, Roland Tennyson and Melissa McQueen — had some nice things Saturday to say about Greimel and other officials, adding that they appreciated the mayor's support, and hoped that they could put on an even better — and bigger — event next year.

The organizers likened what happened earlier this summer to a basketball game in which tensions run high and everyone boils over but manages to get resolved in the end. The way they saw it, they said, Greimel, was like an overheated coach who benched his players.

But the organizers said everyone needed a moment to cool off, and then they did what was required to win. Saturday they set up inflatable play spaces, handed out hundreds of hotdogs and hamburgers and, they said, got an NBA player to show up.

Greimel, in an email to the Free Press, called the tournament a "great event."

More:Organizer of Pontiac event shut down by police shares his version of what happened

The organizers said the reason they started the tournament was to bring people together, and in the end, they believe they succeeded with their goal by getting 500 people — from young kids to elderly folks — to have fun.

"Despite all the controversy, we bounced back," Tennyson said, explaining the free community event was underwritten by sponsors. "Not only that, but it also helped us create a new blueprint for what we’re going to do for the fifth-year anniversary."

And, Thompson said, putting the event on for the fourth year taught him some lessons in perseverance, community cooperation — oh, and not to ever forget again — making sure all his paperwork was in order and in on time.

"We took pictures with the mayor," he told the Free Press, adding that there no more hard feelings. "The mayor gave me a hug. I gave him a hug. He gave me handshake. I gave him a handshake. And as they used to say old school, the rest is now water under the bridge."

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected]