National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2001
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Letter to the Editor
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First, let me introduce myself. My name is Dale Allen. I work for Red Carpet Charters of Tulsa, Oklahoma. I had the pleasure of driving your men's basketball team during its stay in Tulsa.
The mannerism and respectfulness of your coaching staff and the basketball team is to be commended. They conducted themselves as true gentlemen and it was truly appreciated.
I am writing you also to tell you a story. It's the story of an 8-year-old boy. Two years ago, this little boy witnessed a car accident. He saw his older sister, who was only eight at the time, ejected from the car through the windshield. He saw her rushed to a nearby hospital, but then he never saw his sister again. Five days later, his sister died. He did not attend the funeral because his parents felt that he was too young to understand.
After the accident, the little boy had problems coping with what happened. He started acting out in school and his attitude toward people changed.
That same little boy was invited by Valparaiso coach Homer Drew to a basketball game between Valparaiso and Oral Roberts University. The boy was very excited about the invitation. He rode the bus, went to practice and shot baskets, went to dinner, went to the game and sat with the team on the bench. Team members even autographed his new basketball. It was the best time of his life since the accident.
That little boy just happens to be my grandson, Donnie.
I never told the coaching staff or the team what happened -- they did it out of the kindness of their hearts, and my wife and I were blessed by what they did for him. It is a day that he will never forget.
I would like to officially thank the Valparaiso coaching staff and the men's basketball team for being the professionals they are. They may have lost the game but they won the heart of an 8-year-old boy, a Valpo fan for life.
Dale Allen
Tulsa, Oklahoma
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