Latinos In Action Sports Association

Latinos in Action Sports Association^[1] was founded in San Antonio, Texas by Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Hall of Fame member Raul "Roy" Zuniga in 1992. It is a non-profit organization that uses money raised from sports tournaments it organizes for college scholarships for low income high school students. Latinos in Action is well known for its annual Cinco de Mayo International Hispanic basketball tournament held in San Antonio. Teams from all over Texas, California, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, Kansas, Nevada, and Illinois as well as teams from Mexico have in the tournament.

History

Latinos in Action held their first basketball tournament in May 1989. The sports association also acknowledges athletes for their success in sports. Some notable athletes that have been honored by Latinos in Action are:

Tom Flores of California- best known for winning two Super Bowls as head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Raiders. Also is only head coach that has won two Super Bowls and has yet to be inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tommy Nunez of Arizona- longtime NBA referee. Nunez also runs national Hispanic basketball tournament in Phoenix and promotes academics thru athletics. Tommy is very active among the Hispanic communities in Arizona, California, and San Antonio.

Tony Casillas of Oklahoma- best known as one of the anchors of the Dallas Cowboys defensive line while on their way to a Super Bowl title.

Jesse'James'Leija of San Antonio- former lightweight boxing champion of the world.

Julio Gallardo of El Paso, Texas—best known for winning 10 national championships in the Mexican Basketball league and member of Mexican Olympic Team

Future plans

Latinos in Action hopes to expand the sports association nationwide and construct a hall of fame building that will be open to the public.

References