They say when one door closes, another one opens. That’s surely what Robert Lee Edwards Jr. was thinking in 2023 as he watched the final seconds tick down on the Crown Arena’s overhead screen, marking the last game of the Fayetteville Stingers’ basketball team.
Despite the disappointment of hearing the final buzzer on the Fayetteville Stingers, the beat in Edwards’ heart — the dream of owning a basketball team — grew louder.
Edwards, the team’s livestream coordinator and director in charge of the big screen at the time, turned to his coworker Tiras Ray and said, “One day I’m gonna buy a team.”
Ray, the screen producer and camera operator, laughed, “Are you serious?”
“Tiras, stick with me,” Edwards replied.
Now, years later, Ray reflects on that conversation, saying Edwards is “a man of his word.”
“Anything he’s told me, he’s delivered on,” Ray said.
Just a year and a half after watching the Stingers’ final game, Edwards, at 37 years old, turned his vision into reality. Edwards ended up submitting a proposal in 2023 to The Basketball League (TBL), and it was accepted. TBL is a professional men’s basketball league in North America that focuses on providing a professional basketball experience with a strong emphasis on community engagement and affordable entertainment.
During his negotiations with TBL, Edwards purchased a brand-new license, which included naming rights and likeness for an entirely new team.
“TBL officials named me a new team owner after the purchase,” Edwards said.
The Fayetteville Liberty basketball team was officially born on December 12, 2024, with its inaugural season starting in March 2026 at the Crown Coliseum as part
of TBL.
“We’re like a feeder league,” Edwards explains. “We’re the central connection point for guys aiming for the NBA’s G-League or looking to sign overseas contracts. In baseball terms, we’d be a Single-A affiliate.”
But his mission goes beyond the court — he wants to uplift the city and give youth a renewed sense of hope.
He always believed Fayetteville could support a stronger, more impactful sports team — for the players, the fans and the community. He sees his athletes as ambassadors not just on the court, but off it as well. He doesn’t want just basketball players, he wants heroes. Edwards envisions basketball fans not just coming to watch a basketball game, but to support their hometown heroes.
LibertyCity Ambassadors Program
Under the umbrella of his nonprofit Hope.Community, Edwards launched the LibertyCity Ambassadors Program (LcAP), the official outreach arm of Fayetteville Liberty. The program offers scholarships, organizes charity drives and hosts school visits. It has already awarded scholarships to students at three local schools: Alger B. Wilkins High School, Pine Forest High School and Max Abbott Middle School.
“You can have all the talent in the world, and I want them to be talent-driven,” Edwards said, “but if you’re not a man of loyalty, honor, respect, integrity, personal courage and selfless service, you may not have a home here. Those things are more important to me.”
He credits his Army background and discipline for his leadership style and enjoys mentoring and inspiring others on a broader level.
At first, Edwards didn’t know what to name the team. But when Fort Bragg was renamed Fort Liberty in summer 2023, the choice became obvious.
“We know it’s since changed back to Fort Bragg,” Edwards said, “but Liberty became our springboard. It was perfect.”
He chose black and gold as the team colors — a nod to Army culture.
Fayetteville Liberty Owner Robert Lee Edwards Jr.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Edwards is a retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 who has lived in Fayetteville for the past 12 years — and now calls it his forever home.
“My whole family is here, including my father, who also retired here,” said Edwards, a self-described military kid.
He has a background in information systems technology and also spent time as an associate pastor in Fayetteville. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Edwards became the church’s sole “computer guy,” which pushed him to learn social media and videography to help with virtual outreach. That unexpected skill set led him to a job with the Stingers — and eventually to team ownership.
One of his first calls after purchasing Fayetteville Liberty was to his former coworker, Tiras Ray.
“I’m gonna buy the team on Friday, and I want you to be part of it,” Edwards told him. He initially appointed Ray as assistant coach and head of player operations.
“That worked for me,” said Ray, who had a 15-year background in restaurant management, including stints at Waffle House, Cheddar’s, Red Lobster and Red Robin.
But after a month, Edwards called Ray again.
“I think I made a mistake,” Edwards told him. Ray thought he was being let go until Edwards said, “I should’ve given you a bigger position.”
That’s how Tiras Ray became general manager in 2025.
General Manager Tiras Ray
Ray is Edwards’ right-hand man. His duties include recruiting players, handling contracts, securing sponsorships and hiring staff across all departments — from coaching to media.
Ray said he uses social media, like YouTube and Facebook, to recruit potential players. He looks for athleticism, basketball IQ and team mentality.
“Everyone wants that dog — a guy who plays hard, plays both ends of the court, not just a scorer but a defender too,” Ray explains. “For how common basketball is, not a lot of people can play at a high level.”
Ray also has a background in sports media. After leaving the restaurant industry, he worked in the school system and started a podcast, Say What? Say it Again, focused on sports. He later earned a Bachelor of Arts in sports broadcasting from Full Sail University.
Through a guest segment on his podcast, Ray first met Fayetteville Liberty’s future head coach, Don Gardner.
Head Coach Don Gardner
Don Gardner, 49, has a deep coaching resume. Raised in Fayetteville by a military father, Gardner currently works in the Fort Bragg school system and serves as vice president of schools for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1770. He’s married and has raised three boys and two girls.
“I have 23 years coaching varsity and two years coaching middle school,” Gardner said. He’s a 10-time Coach of the Year with 500 wins and a 2024 Hall of Fame nominee with the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA). He also recently received a proclamation from Mayor Mitch Colvin for his work in the community, designating March 2, 2025, in honor of Gardner.
Gardner doesn’t preach a specific coaching philosophy but believes in leading by example and work ethic.
“Always be coachable and stand on your standards,” he said. He wants professionals — players who sacrifice the me for the we, and who hustle on both sides of the floor.
When inviting players to a combine, Gardner encourages authenticity — whether confident or shy — so he can learn how best to coach them if they make the team.
“I want our team to be dependable in the community and an inspiration to local kids,” Gardner said. “I want a program where someone can say, ‘Hey, I can play for a pro team right here without going anywhere.”
Gardner says many of Fayetteville Liberty’s recruits have played high school ball in Fayetteville.
Fayetteville Liberty prospect Arylle Jai “AJ” Bryant
One of those local prospects is Arylle Jai “AJ” Bryant. A 23-year-old IT Specialist in the Army, AJ is married, humble, grounded and driven — exactly the kind of player Fayetteville Liberty is after.
“AJ is phenomenal,” Ray said. “So mature, so mild-mannered. He’s one of those people it’s hard not to love. That’s the kind of player we want.”
Bryant has an impressive basketball resume, which includes a stint in high school basketball at Westover.
When Ray invited him to the team’s first combine, AJ checked his deployment schedule before committing.
“I didn’t want to say yes and then be sent on deployment,” AJ said. “He told me to come to the combine, and we’d go from there.”
It was AJ’s first professional combine.
“It was great,” he said. “I met the staff and felt the support. They test your vertical, height and weight, and you run 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 drills. From the start, I knew I wanted to be part of this team.”
Of the 34 players at Fayetteville Liberty’s first-ever combine, only nine were retained — and AJ was one of just two who received a written invitation to return for the second combine on July 12.
“This is my first real pro opportunity,” AJ said. “I let a few slip by before. Not this time.”
Community outreach driven
In an effort to connect the Fayetteville Liberty team with the youth of Fayetteville, Edwards proposed a free basketball clinic for children ages 5–14 at the TJ Robinson Life Center in Hope Mills. The response was overwhelming: 120 kids signed up within the first 24 hours. Edwards then expanded the invitation to accommodate up to 200 campers. By the time the registration closed, “211 campers had signed up over 158 families,” Edwards said. The camp is scheduled for July 15.
“This is totally free,” Edwards said. “They get to interact with our team and get swag bags, shirts and food — the whole nine. We were able to do this to have an impact on our city. I’m leading with these initiatives.”
Edwards says that without the backing of a giant like the NBA, leagues like the TBL often struggle to stand on their own. That’s why they focus on building strong community ties. But for Edwards, it’s not a marketing tactic — he genuinely believes in the power of hope.
“We generally believe in bringing hope to the community one possession at a time, we just happen to do it through basketball,” Edwards said. “We’re connected to the city and consider ourselves stakeholders in the city of Fayetteville. I know this team is going to be an asset to the city for many years to come. We need the city behind us and give us a fair shake.”
Read CityView Magazine’s “The Military Issue” July 2025 e-edition here.