Richard “Pee Wee” Kirkland began playing basketball in the streets of Harlem when he was 9-years-old. By age 13, he split his time between playing ball and committing robberies to help finance a growing drug empire. With law enforcement on his tail, Kirkland found himself behind bars twice between 1971 and 1988. From there, he made a change, becoming a motivational speaker and inspiring young, inner-city athletes to take a different path out than he did.