A Milwaukee youth football team used a high-energy pep rally to honour two members killed in 2025 while seeking support for a planned youth centre.
The C.L.E. Panthers hosted the event at Harley-Davidson on Saturday, bringing together players, coaches and members of the local community. The organisation works with more than 100 children aged between six and 13.
Corey Collins, known as “Coach C”, said the players were being prepared for futures well beyond the football field.
“I look at them, and I want to see them in somebody’s college, somebody’s NFL, somebody’s doctor, somebody’s lawyer, and we are the start of that,” he said.
Carvell Brooks, a director and coach with the C.L.E. Panthers, said the rally was intended to promote unity and raise awareness of the team’s work.
“We’re here to bring unity and bring the community together and also bring awareness to our team,” Brooks said.
The C.L.E. name stands for Changing Lives through Entertainment. Players at the event said the organisation had helped them develop discipline, confidence and respect for others.
“It gave me the ability to face my challenges better than I used to,” said Dominique Chambers, an 11-year-old player.
Mason Brooks, 12, said: “It helps you with discipline, makes you respect your elders, respect everyone, including yourself.”
C.L.E. Panthers remember fallen team members
The rally also became a memorial for coach Maurice Williams, 37, and player Deon Sargent, 11, who were both shot and killed in Milwaukee last year.
Sargent was killed near 68th Street and Silver Spring Avenue on September 16, 2025. Prosecutors charged a 13-year-old in connection with his death.
“Rest in peace to him; we do this to you, and rest in peace, Coach Williams; we do this for you,” Mason Brooks said.
Collins said the team had used the losses as a source of motivation rather than allowing them to end the season’s progress.
“After a loss, we all still have to pick ourselves up and keep moving and use that as motivation,” he said.
The organisation now hopes to raise more than $100,000 to open a youth centre next year. The proposed facility would offer a safe place for children to learn about podcasting, newscasting, sport, film-making and video editing.
“That youth centre would be a safe place for kids to go and actually learn how to use the media,” Brooks said.
As well as developing the centre, the coaches want to take the C.L.E. Panthers to national competition. They are seeking donations and wider community support to help fund the next stage of the programme.
