High school star has bad game, grandmother jumps to defense
Some players have a bad game and shrug it off as one of those things about sports that cannot be helped. Other athletes receive strength and support from, ahem, interesting sources.
High school basketball star Michael Cunningham has a reputation for being a top player in his league. He is currently leading scorer for Goddard (Md.) DuVal High school, but recently had a terribly subpar outing. Against their rival Upper Marlboro (Md.) in the playoffs Cunningham only managed to eke out six points as his team was pummeled 85-54.
Coach Lafayette Dublin was diplomatic after the game, choosing to resist the urge to ask the question as to what was wrong with Cunningham. Dublin didn’t seem fazed though, understanding that in sports anything can happen.
“That’s playoff basketball,” Dublin said. “You always know that can happen. It’s always in your mind. You just hope that it’s not you.”
That’s when things got interesting. Cunningham’s grandmother couldn’t bear watching her grandson take the fall for his school’s loss, so she spoke out saying that his poor performance was not his fault but hers.
“I just wanted to go on record in defense of my grandson’s, Michael Cunningham, weak performance last night by letting readers know that he was battling a severe cold… I should have taken him home but being the kind of person he is, a total team player, he insisted he would be better by game time.” Grandma Cunningham further added, “Now know this, this is not an excuse because basketball is a team sport and last night the best TEAM won. I just wanted everyone to know why Michael was so off his game.”
I’m not sure how Cunningham reacted to this incident but I’m willing to bet he wasn’t too pleased about his grandmother coming to his defense. Still I was a kind gesture and though his season is over Cunningham can at least be assured that next time he has a cold his grandmother will have his best interest in mind from the outset.
