Indianapolis, IN
NBA players will show Indiana high school basketball stars the path to professional and personal success during NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis – Indianapolis Recorder
IU Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy and the Mothers of Professional
Basketball Players, Inc., are hosting an event on Feb. 17 to support athletes in
using their platform to make a difference
INDIANAPOLIS—Esteemed NBA players and parents will share their advice and stories with Indiana’s elite AAU basketball players and their parents during the All-Star 2024 Athlete and Parent Forum Feb. 17 in Indianapolis.
The Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, Inc. (MPBP, Inc.) are partnering to bring elite high school students and middle school students who are future NCAA D1 and future NBA-bound players together with professional players and their parents for an insightful discussion on building a lasting legacy on and off the court.
A panel of NBA and WNBA players and their parents will discuss their personal experiences, providing insights into the challenges and triumphs of a career in professional basketball. They will offer advice for aspiring athletes and their parents, answer their questions, and help them understand how they can make a meaningful impact in lives and communities through their unique platforms as professional athletes and family members of professional athletes.
Professional athletes and their parents participating on the panel are:
- Andre Iguodala, Acting Executive Director, National Basketball Players Association and former NBA player, and Linda Shanklin, President, MPBP, Inc.
- Gary Harris, Jr., current NBA player, Joy Harris, former WNBA player, and Gary Harris, Sr.
- Al Harrington, former NBA player, and Mona Lawton, former President, MPBP, Inc.
- Eddie Gill, former NBA player, and Kim Davis
“Athletes play an important role in their communities personally as well as professionally. The All-Star 2024 Athlete and Parent Forum is a unique opportunity for young athletes to learn the skills that will help them manage their lives and careers and give back in meaningful, effective ways,” said Una Osili, Ph.D., Dean’s Fellow of the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy and Associate Dean for Research and International Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
“Sports and philanthropy are natural allies. Athletes have the potential to raise awareness and drive philanthropic action that can inspire solutions. These conversations will help these young players enhance their philanthropic activities and advocacy skills to work for social change,” Osili added. “We are pleased to partner with Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, Inc., to present this opportunity.”
“As parents of highly successful athletes, we have seen firsthand both the challenges and the opportunities that a career in Division 1 and professional basketball can bring. We are mentors and friends providing resources and services, helping rising stars and their families learn from the experience our children and our families have gained as they learn to navigate life in the NBA and other professional leagues,” said Linda Shanklin, President of Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, Inc.
“Our organization serves those in need, and we strive to serve as positive role models through charity, service, and scholarships. We encourage our children to be role models in their communities and to make a meaningful impact by giving back in a wide variety of ways. It is a pleasure to collaborate with the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy to help these young players strengthen and hone those skills.”
Mothers of Professional Basketball Players, Inc., supports communities and makes a difference in the lives of those who live where their children live, work and play. The organization impacts lives through charities, volunteer efforts and fundraising, while continuing to build and promote a sisterhood among women who share the common bond of mothers of professional athletes.
The All-Star 2024 Athlete and Parent Forum is sponsored by The Indianapolis Foundation and The Office of The Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Indiana University.
Indianapolis, IN
Colts fans react to Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen keeping their jobs: ‘What an embarrassing joke’
The Indianapolis Colts have decided to keep general manager Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen, though the Colts lost their last seven games of the 2025 season missed the AFC playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.
The Colts do not hold a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after sending their next two first-rounders to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner, so new leadership would have a limited impact in the short term.
Shane Steichen coaching record
- Shane Steichen: 3 seasons, 25-26 record, 0 playoff appearances. The Colts went 9-8 in 2023 and 8-9 in both ’24 and ’25. He is 2-10 vs. Houston and Jacksonville.
Chris Ballard record as Indianapolis Colts general manager
- Chris Ballard: 9 seasons, 70-78-1 record, 2 playoff appearances. The Colts went 11-5 in 2020 and 10-6 in ’18.
Reaction to Indianapolis Colts keeping general manager Chris Ballard, coach Shane Steichen
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — UPDATE: IMPD detectives with the Missing Persons Division have safely located Zohott.
Original Story
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public’s help in locating 68-year-old Mari Zohott.
Zohott is described as standing five feet five inches tall, weighing 115 pounds, and having brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 3 on foot in the 9200 block of E. 10th Street. Zohott was last seen wearing hot pink pants and a black hoodie. Detectives are looking into the possibility that Mari got on a bus.
According to her family, Zohott is believed to have symptoms of undiagnosed early onset dementia. She may be in need of medical attention.
Investigators ask that anyone with information on Zohott’s whereabouts call 911, contact the IMPD Missing Persons Unit at 317-327-6160, or call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317.262.8477 or (TIPS).
Robert “RJ” Williams Jr.’s aunt speaks after his body recovered in White River
Patricia Madison, who identified herself as Robert “RJ” Williams’ aunt, speaks to media near where her nephew was recovered from the White River on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Broad Ripple.
Police recovered the body of a missing 16-year-old with autism Jan. 3 in the White River, a few hundred feet from the Broad Ripple McDonald’s, where he was last seen.
Emergency personnel loaded the body of Robert “RJ” Williams Jr., shielded by baby blue sheets, into the coroner’s van Saturday afternoon. Family members stood nearby, grasping each other in hugs. A ‘missing’ poster for Williams was taped to the wooden steps leading down to the water where his body was found.
“RJ was a good kid. He didn’t bother nobody,” Williams’ aunt Patricia Madison said through tears. “He loved his family, and now he’s gone.”
Police had been searching for Williams after he was last seen between a McDonald’s and a bus stop on Dec. 17 in the 1100 block of Broad Ripple Avenue, according to a missing person’s flyer. It also stated that he suffered from mood disorders and had a history of psychosis. The flier also said he had the “mentality of a 10 or 11-year-old.”
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Capt. William Carter said they do not suspect any foul play. Cameras in the area caught footage of Williams walking toward the river dock, he said. They also obtained the last message he sent, he said, where he said he was walking on the ice and sent a picture.
Around 1 p.m. on Jan. 3, an officer identified what looked to be a person under the water’s surface while conducting a drone search. A dive team and first responders then recovered the body, and family members identified him as Williams.
Capt. William Carter speaks after Robert “RJ” Williams Jr. found in White River
Capt. William Carter speaks on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Broad Ripple.
“That’s obviously a heartbreaking development in a case that has deeply affected our community. It’s not the outcome we had hoped for,” Carter said. “We do extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
The discovery ended over three weeks of police and community search efforts. On Jan. 2, IMPD confirmed it was shifting to a recovery process, believing he fell into the river. Detectives and IMPD’s K9s searched the area and located a backpack and gym bag belonging to the teen on a dock along White River, police said previously.
Steps away from the river, Madison said it was difficult to know they had been searching for weeks, but he was so close. She said he loved video games and was close with her son. She stressed how close she and Williams were, being both his caregiver and basketball coach, and how she was more than an aunt.
“RJ was loving, caring, and he would do anything for anybody. He didn’t like people to be bullied,” she said. “He loved his dad and his mom and his sisters, all his family very much. RJ was loved by everybody that he came in contact with.”
Now, with closure that he was found, Madison said his family will try to move on. She asked that people with relatives who have mental disabilities keep them close and make sure they are aware of their surroundings.
The case rallied many in the community. Dozens of neighbors have gathered on multiple occasions to search the area and put up posters.
“It means a lot to us because people just came out of nowhere asking to help look for him,” she said. “People we didn’t even know, never met, that was willing to help. They have literally been helping us every single day, looking for him.”
Several of those who sought to find Williams showed up to pray and give support Saturday as police retrieved his body. Debra Porter, who knew the family through school, said the neighborhood came out to uplift the family, and she said she hopes this tragedy brings the community closer.
“Our heart goes out to another mother. Our heart goes out to another family. Our hearts go out to those that are suffering. That’s where our hearts are,” she said. “We come together as one another, just embracing one another and supporting.”
The USA TODAY Network – Indiana’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.
Have a story to tell? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.
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