A group of middle school basketball players left the court mid game to defend a young girl with Down syndrome. Desiree Andrews, was being harassed by a bully.
Basketball Coach Brandon Morris, from Lincoln Middle School in Wisconsin, recalled the students instincts by telling Kenosha News that, “One of the kids stepped up and said, ‘Don’t mess with her.”
Other students, Chase Vasquez, Miles Rodriguez and Scooter Terrien, followed the other student by getting off the court to confront the bully as well.
The boys commented when Rodriguez told the Kenosha News, “We were mad; we didn’t like that. We asked our sports director to talk to the people and tell them not to make fun of her.”
Meanwhile, eighth grader Terrien, told a local station, TMJ4, “It’s not fair when other people get treated wrong because we’re all the same. We’re all created the same.” The cheerleader, Andrews, then told TMJ4 that she thought the notion was “sweet, kind, awesome, amazing.”
Andrews, initially wanted to become a cheerleader after she watched the popular television series “Glee,” which featured “Becky”, a cheerleader with Down syndrome.
Photo By: KEVIN POIRIER / Kenosha News
