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Thursday, March 28, 2024

A legacy lives on with ‘Swag’ Tourney

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While many Indianapolis residents went about business as usual on Monday, the family and friends of Andre Stennette-Harrod observed the one-year anniversary of his slaying. Stennette-Harrod was 21.

To celebrate his life and accomplishments, Stennette-Harrod’s family and friends will host the inaugural Andre Stennette-Harrod “Swag” Tournament on June 22 and 23 at Arlington High School.

“It was only fitting to do a tournament because that is what Andre would do,” said Darcy Clarke, Stennette-Harrod’s aunt.

The tournament will be a three on three, double elimination style basketball tournament and according to Clarke, the tournament’s unique name comes from Stennette-Harrod always saying that everything he did had swag before his passing.

At the time of his death, Stennette-Harrod was in the car with his older brother, LaVonne Harrod, 24, at the intersection of 38th Street and Georgetown Road when they were both shot and killed. The brothers had just left Cloud 9, an Indianapolis club, where rapper Yo Gotti was scheduled to perform. Although a year has passed since that night, the legacy Stennette-Harrod left behind still lives on.

“As a person, he was just about as nice and caring a kid as I’ve been around,” said Bobby Wonnell, Andre’s high school basketball coach at Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School. “He was the kind of kid that every coach would want in his locker-room, on his team.”

Besides being a kind and caring individual, Stennette-Harrod had a knack for making others laugh.

“Andre was the funniest kid…he just made people laugh wherever he went and it was not something he tried to do, he was just naturally funny,” said Clarke.

Beyond his personality, Stennette-Harrod built a lasting legacy through his community service and nonprofit involvement.

In 2007, at only 16 years old, Stennette-Harrod founded Play it 4Ward Sports & Entertainment Co., a nonprofit organization led by local youth that provides Indianapolis teens with positive activities that keep them off the streets. Play it 4Ward also provides mentoring, hosts basketball clinics and strongly combats violence among other initiatives.

According to Clarke, one of the reasons the family is hosting the tournament is to promote Stennette-Harrod and Play it 4Ward’s message of nonviolence and to help put an end to the street violence that claimed his life.

“Andre fought against violence and youth violence and for him to die at the hands of what he was trying to combat is very deep,” said Clarke.

“We have to keep pushing the idea that fighting and shooting each other is not the way to solve any type of conflict.”

The Stennette-Harrod family’s push to end violence could not come at a better time.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s 2013 preliminary incident counts, criminal homicides are on the rise in Indianapolis. As of June 15, there have been 19 more criminal homicides than this time last year.

However, instead of being negative about the growing challenge ahead of them, Clarke and the Stennette-Harrod family have a positive outlook and continue to carry on Andre’s legacy.

“If we touch one person in the community, we have done our job,” said Clarke.

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