A 15-year-old Chicago boy spent months sneaking into a fitness facility to play basketball until recently, when a police officer finally put a stop to it.
The boy had a membership to the gym for a while, but it was cancelled because his family couldn’t afford it. But he still wanted to shoot hoops with his friends, so he repeatedly slipped in unnoticed.
Eventually, the gym staff caught wind of it and called the police. Officer Mario Valenti arrived at the scene and spoke to the teen. After learning that he just wanted to play basketball and couldn’t afford the membership, Officer Valenti decided to let him go … back into the gym to play.
Not only was he not in trouble, the officer paid $150 toward his membership. The gym’s corporate office found out about Officer Valenti’s generosity and decided to waive the additional cost of the membership.
Valenti told the Chicago Tribune, “At the end of the day, it’s not about gratitude. Most of us took this job to help people, not to hurt them. I’d rather have him playing ball than being on the street and possibly getting into trouble.”
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