Staff photo / Ed Runyan D’Aundre Brown, executive director of the Central YMCA of Youngstown, is seen at the podium Wednesday at the Youngstown Central YMCA during a news conference regarding the start of the RESPECT basketball league for this summer. It will begin games July 21 after a “pause” for several weeks following the June 12 shooting death of the league’s founder, William “Shimmie” Miller. To Brown’s right is Guy Burney, executive director of the city’s Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, and Golie Stennis, who retired on Tuesday as director of minority health for the city. She is one of the people who provide training to the young men and women who participate in the league.

YOUNGSTOWN — Guy Burney, executive director of the city’s Community Initiative to Reduce Violence, said the June 12 homicide death of William “Shimmy” Miller caused the organizers of the RESPECT Basketball League held at the Central Youngstown YMCA that Miller founded to take a “pause” to process what happened.

“In our community, it’s important to recognize what is going on in your village. So often we are calloused to how we feel. We just keep going. We wanted to make sure that we in our group processed this properly, and we continue to because that’s the health of the community,” Burney said at a news conference Wednesday to announce the updated dates for the league to begin this summer.

“This shouldn’t be a normality. This shouldn’t be something we just start to deal with. We should deal with it properly, so that’s why we paused,” he said.

He said the group that runs the league got together recently and, “We all kind of connected together. We knew we wanted to keep this legacy going.”

The league would have normally begun about July 1 because the summer time is the time of year that the league is most needed, Burney said. “Our data tells us summer is the time when things may be ramped up, so we want to give more programming so people have positive things to do,” he said.

Miller also was CEO of the league, which has been operating for several years. He was found shot to death in a car on Steel Street near Salt Springs Road on the West Side late June 12. No arrests have been made. Police said they recovered between 25 to 30 shell casings in the street from more than one weapon, and it appeared someone had targeted the car.

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said the league has been providing an opportunity for young men and women to build bonds between themselves because “There’s something about communication. There’s something about trust, and there is something about respecting one another when you are in the moment of being competitive.

“So we want to continue momentum, we want to continue that legacy that Shimmie brought to the table for these young men and women, and we want to make sure our community, we continue to heal but also continue to grow.”

D’Aundre Brown, executive director of the Central YMCA of Youngstown, said registration to participate in the league this year is still open. It was going to end July 1, but it will remain open through the end of the month at the YMCA, 17 N. Champion Street, he said. An ID is required, and registration can be done at the front desk.

There is no cost to participate, he said, thanking the city and its Community Initiative to Reduce Violence led by Guy Burney for help in running the league.

The games will begin July 21, and all games will be on Sunday at the Central YMCA downtown. Aug. 25 will be Respect Day, “in honor of Mr. Miller, affectionately known as Shimmie,” D’Aundre Brown said. The location will be announced later. It will be a “celebration of Miller’s legacy,” he said.

The championship game will be Sept. 1 at the Eugenia Atkinson Recreation Center, 903 Otis Street on the North Side.

Burney said Miller, 49, was passionate about educating young people in the community to help them make positive strides in their lives. Part of that was the training that takes place just prior to each of the games. The league partners with several organizations to provide that training in areas such as job training and other skills.

Among the partners are the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board, businesses and the Youngstown Police Department.

Golie Stennis, who retired on Tuesday as director of minority health for the city, spoke briefly, saying she is going to continue to work with the youth through the RESPECT league. “I am not going to lose these youth to the street. I am going to work hard to make things better.”

Burney said the Youngstown Police Department needs the public’s help in solving Miller’s homicide.

“We would still like justice, so if you know what is going on, we need your help so bad,” he said. “This incident can be solved. All the other incidents can be solved, but to get justice, we need your voice.”