Michael Bennett gets it about giving back.

Does that mean Steph Curry doesn’t?

Not necessarily. But the NBA MVP can learn something about inclusion from the Pro Bowl football player.

Inclusive is the opposite of exclusive. And a $2,000 youth camp like Curry’s is exclusive, while a free one like Bennett’s is inclusive.

When KHON reported Bennett’s displeasure with the Warriors guard’s expensive camp on the North Shore last week, it became national news and touched off a debate that included some sentiment that the Seahawks defensive end should mind his own business.

Well, guess what? The way kids in Hawaii are treated IS Bennett’s business. He has made this place his home … and if you’ve met him you know he’s as local at heart as anyone who was born-and-raised in the islands. Even more than some.

When he said the following, it is about his sincere caring for Hawaii’s kids and under-served youth in general.

“I see a lot of different athletes come through Hawaii, whether it’s Steph Curry or whoever it is,” Bennett told KHON. “They all come here and it makes me mad, because I live in this community and I understand this community — that there’s so many kids who can’t afford to pay such a high amount of money.

“If you do have a camp and you charge money for it, you need to make sure that money that you take from this community, you give back to the kids that are paying for the camp. These are the kids that live here,” he said.

Well, maybe not all … a camp that costs that much is also attended by the children of wealthy out-of-towners. But that’s beside the point.

Bennett is invested.

I’d heard years ago about him making his home here, but did not know the full story. I knew his wife was from Hawaii, so I asked where they met.

“In high school,” Bennett replied.

Oh?

“In Houston.”

As it turned out, Bennett’s wife, Pele, and her family were Polynesian dancers in Texas. The family is from the North Shore of Oahu, and former Kahuku and Arizona State star Junior Ah You, a CFL Hall of Famer, is a close relative.

In true local fashion, Bennett refers to Junior as his cousin, and steered fellow Pro Bowl players to his restaurant across the street from Kahuku High School, Tita’s Grill.

When, during Pro Bowl practice, Bennett heard the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame was holding its annual induction dinner the same weekend as the NFL’s all-star game, he bought a table for the event.

He also visited University of Hawaii football practice last spring, bringing former Punahou and Notre Dame star Manti Te’o with him. Te’o also worked Bennett’s free youth camp Saturday at UH’s T.C. Ching Field.

Bennett’s contributions to the community don’t stop at football. The Bennett Foundation targets obesity “through community education, activity and nutrition” in Seattle and Hawaii.

In fairness, Curry also supports charities. And he’s not the only athlete to charge a lot of money for youth camps, in effect making them exclusive.

He just picked the wrong place to hold one, that being Michael Bennett’s home in the islands.

And please, don’t get the concept of inclusion and exclusion confused with that of political correctness.

This is not about every kid getting a trophy, it’s about every kid getting a chance.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.