Community Leaves Teddy Bear Memorial For Teen Bodied By Crossover
ATLANTA, GA—The last time locals saw 16-year-old Javon Liles was when he decided to play basketball with strangers as a newcomer to the pickup game. Liles' futile attempt to guard the neighborhood's best baller had the whole block talking—ultimately asking if they will ever see him in daylight again.
What began as a fast-paced game soon started to wear on Liles' ability to keep up. Suddenly, the once-calm teen appeared shaken by his opponent’s jab step and crossover. The effective fake and crossover made the teen slide backward in his Chuck Taylors and lose balance. According to the streets, that was when the situation went all bad. Jovan experienced a seemingly full body breakdown that he could not control and left him lying on his side.
“Oh my lord. It was so scary,” said Talia McBride, a girl from around the way. “His feet went one way and the rest of his body went another. He hit the ground and one leg curled behind him like an eyelash. He's in a better place now.”
Mcbride reported that all of the players sprinted off the court screaming after his fatal slip-up.
A local celebrity, street artist Taylor Malik, spray-painted a thick red line around Liles' slumped body to satirically portray the fall as a homicide in detective movies. Malik said his art is a true testament to the embarrassment that happens in his community.
"That's every day out here. Young man tried the wrong one.” said the hotep brother with locks.
Malik's outline instantly became a community memorial to remember Liles' efforts. Neighbors gathered at the court's shrine to pay their respects just moments after the incident.
“The memorial just came to be. At first, I wondered if it would be in the way of basketball games," said Malik. "Then, I realized he slid so far that where he fell was well off the court and halfway back to his crib. Crazy!"
Many of the memorial’s donors gave condolences in the form of stuffed teddy bears. Others placed candles and flowers at Liles' place of rest. The tragic episode of confused motor skills and bad coordination was an ordeal that many believed could have been avoided had the kid stayed in his lane.
“The sad part is that he wasn’t even supposed to be out here.” said musty old head Will Grant. “You can tell he usually doesn't ball because he was out there in Chucks. You gon' tear your feet up in those. He probably was looking for something to do during COVID and got cooked by some kid trying to show off.”
Neighborhood clowns and jokesters overly exaggerated Javon's movements at the memorial. A child skated backward in her Heelys to comically fall and a man moonwalked into a split during personalized reenactments of the tragedy. People absent for the ankle-breaking looked on at the antics in disbelief.
We reached out to Javon at his home for comment but no one answered the door. Neighbors told us they suspect he may have moved. Even if he did, it seemed the hood would remember forever. It was probably a good idea for him to lay low for a while.
