LAKELAND, FL. – There aren’t many 21-year-olds with full-time jobs. Amy Rhodes, a 21-year-old Criminal Justice major at Southeastern University, has a full-time job, as the owner of the Lakeland Royals.
Rhodes is a regular attendee for most of the Florida Basketball Association (FBA) matches. Last year, she was sitting at a Florida Basketball Association (FBA) game, when she had a realization: “Every game felt as if I was not only critiquing the coaches but the players as well. I kept assuring myself that mistakes I witnessed would not happen if I had my own team”.
One night, while attending a regular game, the president of the FBA happened to be in attendance. At first glance, there was doubt encumbering her potential dream. But knowing what was on the line allowed Rhodes to walk up and seize her opportunity.
“I walked up to him and asked, ‘what do I have to do to own a team?’. We emailed back and forth after a few days. The next game, I showed up with the proper paperwork, check in hand, and said, ‘let’s do this,” said Rhodes.
While fresh faces are hard to come by in sports ownership, young faces are certainly criticized for their lack of presence in their respective position. This was no different for Rhodes, the first female, and youngest FBA team owner, in her entrance to the league.
“I had a lot of people telling me I need to win. That I needed to at least, take a year to do an internship with another pro team,” said Rhodes.
Criticism seems to find its way into any opportunity we pursue, however, with criticism there will be praise. Since the team’s inception, Rhodes has seen tremendous feedback from the Lakeland community. Her team is even geared towards giving back to the community that has begun to witness her growth in the sport.
“Were passionate about giving back to the community,” said Rhodes. “We’d like to open our own basketball gym by the summer. This gym would be designed for kids who come from lower-income households. This opportunity will allow them to be trained at camps by pro athletes and coaches, while also growing as an individual”.
Seeing this as a catalyst to be successful in the sport, Rhodes alluded to possibly attempting to get a franchise in Tampa in the future.
“Tampa doesn’t have an NBA team. They have football, baseball, hockey, but no basketball. I’m already the first female owner in the FBA so why not the NBA,” said Rhodes.
She also reiterated that while shooting for bigger, her dedication remains with the Royals and seeing this franchise grow for the next 5-10 years.
The Lakeland Royals will kick off their preseason debut, next month at the RP Funding Center. You can find more information on their website: https://www.lakelandroyals.org/.
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