Photo: Get the Tissues: Special Needs Teen Scores Thanks to Opposing Team Member
Earlier this month, a Texas teen with a developmental disability was given a moment he’ll never forget.
The team manager for El Paso’s Coronado High School, Mitchell Marcus, has always been in love with the game of basketball. His mother told CBS News her son always asked for a basketball on his birthday, because the game meant so much to him. This love is why Coronado Coach Peter Morales wanted to do something special for his manager.
What Mitchell didn’t know before his team’s game against Franklin High School, their last game of the season, was Coach Morales had already decided he was going to put him in at the end of the game - no matter the score.
With Franklin HS only down by 10 points and 90 seconds left in the game, Coach Morales and the Coronado Thunderbirds welcomed Mitchell onto the court and the crowd began shouting, “Mitchell, Mitchell!” Trying to fill him with the pride of scoring on the court, his teammates handed him the ball over and over again, setting him up to make a shot. His first few attempts to score were not successful and the ball was ultimately turned over to Franklin. Still, with everyone on the court wanting to give him his moment of glory, a member of Franklin’s team, Jonathan Montanez, did something extraordinary.
As only seconds remained on the clock, Montanez, now in possession of the ball, called out to Mitchell and tossed him the ball.
With one last chance, Mitchell took his shot. He scored.
The sound of the cheers in the now viral video were deafening
