Silence envelops the crowd; not a word is uttered. The only sound is the squeak of basketball shoes. When the ninth point is scored, the silence shatters and cheers ripple through the stands in the Robinson gymnasium.
Every year, Robinson hosts its annual Break the Silence basketball game. The boys’ basketball team will play against the Wharton Wildcats this year on Friday, Jan. 19. The game will start at 8 p.m. Free shirts will be distributed starting at 7:30 p.m., while supplies last.
The tradition started at Robinson in 2015; this year, Robinson will be hosting its seventh annual Break the Silence game.
“Coach Saunders and the Knightmare Club started it, and they reached out to the Crisis Center. They saw it online that other schools had done it and that it was a very cool event. So, they organized it and got it started and it has been a great tradition at Robinson and the student body does a great job [at organizing it],” IB Math Teacher and Basketball Coach Steven Smith said.
Break the Silence is an organization that focuses on creating a world without domestic violence. It aims to create a safe space where anyone can speak out and feel safe and protected.
“Every nine seconds, a woman in the U.S. is domestically abused and this is not something most high schoolers know of. Showing up to this event is important since a group of students come together to support a cause and spread awareness,” Knightmare President Mina Kuklen (’24), who is in charge of planning this event, said.
Although the game only lasts for two hours, organizing Break the Silence has been a longitudinal process. Kuklen emphasized how she has been planning this since October of this school year.
“I started planning in October and began finding contacts for the crisis center and people we have been in contact with in the past. I’ve been emailing the crisis center, the RHS foundation and Junior Civitan and have worked with them to raise money for this event. I’ve been spending months trying to find more sponsors and reach out to people so they could donate more money to make this event as special as possible,” Kuklen said.
The Break the Silence game is always one to remember. Tickets will be available online through the Hillsborough County website.
“The game stands for a huge problem for women in our world’s society. There is a very strong meaning behind the game and there’s no better place to be in South Tampa on a Friday than the Robinson gym,” Basketball player Donavan Kelly (’24) said. “I love it when people come out to the games. Me and the team play better with more people because we wanna put on a show for everyone.”
