San Antonio Adult Entertainment: A Spurs Youth Athletic League Success Story: Orlando Mendez-Valdez
February 17, 2010Formerly known as the Drug Free League, the Spurs Foundation financially supports the SYBL, providing jerseys, certified coaches training and other benefits. Orlando needed the top-notch instruction on values. He also needed to embrace the league’s mandate: No drugs, alcohol or tobacco allowed. “Reading the drug free pledge before every game made an impact on me,” Orlando says. “It was really a chance to stay away from all the bad influences and continue on the right path.” On the alley-like road where Orlando once lived, temptation lurked on the corner. Horror knocked on the door. One morning he awoke to a loud banging. When he opened the door, a half-naked prostitute stood before him, bleeding from multiple knife wounds.
Another time, he peeked out the back door and saw a train run over a man on the tracks, severing both legs. Even now, years after taking Orlando out of that neighborhood, Abel hears bits and pieces of stories he’s never heard. “Orlando saw people get shot,” Abel says. “He saw people get killed. He saw prostitution. He saw stabbings. He saw a lot of things a child should not witness.”
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