Kevin Sheppard

Kevin (born 1979 - the year of Iran's Islamic Revolution) is a multi-talented United States Virgin Islands athlete. Kevin played basketball and soccer at Jacksonville University, on scholarship. As a teenager he was pursued by the global soccer powerhouse Manchester United to join their youth development program in the English Premiere League. Kevin, who was also pursued by various college basketball coaches in the United States, chose hoops over professional soccer because "all the girls were into basketball players."
After a successful college career in the Atlantic Sun Conference at Jacksonville University (where he led his team in assists and minutes played each year, and was a two-time all-conference player) Kevin started his professional career overseas, playing in South America, Europe, China and Israel before joining the Iranian Super League in 2008. He stayed in Iran through the 2011 season and became one of the most successful and most popular players ever to play in the Super League. In 2011 Kevin and his wife Leah had a baby girl. Since becoming a dad Kevin has taken time off from professional basketball to run a non-for-profit youth league, CBA – Choices Basketball Associations Inc, of which he is founder and president. CBA's goal is to break the cycle of violence in Kevin's native U.S. Virgin Islands by providing a positive environment for kids through after-school programs and basketball.Kevin traces his dedication for positive change back to his time in Iran. The experiences he had there, and the strong personal relationships he formed, have made him a different man. In particular, he credits three Iranian women, all fans of his former Iranian club A.S. Shiraz, for introducing him to their rich culture and to Iran's pressing social issues, which in Kevin's view mirror some of the same issues still plaguing the U.S. and the Western world at large: women's rights, human rights, inequality. These three women allowed him to grow as a global citizen by providing their unique perspectives and by acting as 'citizen diplomats.'

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