Acts of Kindness

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’” (Matthew 5:43-48 ESV).

Sometimes the most wonderful stories are found within the arena of sports. The following is one of those stories:

Northwest football coach Dave Frantz and Tigers’ coach Derek DeWitt shared a conversation the week leading up to the game. But the two coaches weren’t discussing strategy; instead they were talking about a mentally handicapped Northwest player by the name of Jake Porter. Porter, a senior, has a disorder called "Chromosomal Fragile-X," which is the most common cause of inherited mental retardation. Porter still shows up on time for practice every day and dresses in full gear during games, but he has yet to take an official snap in a football game. Frantz wanted that streak to end last Friday. "I told them (Waverly) ahead of time that he can’t take a hit or anything," Frantz said. "If the game’s not at stake on the last play, I wanted him to come in and take a knee." Yet a week after their conversation, with Waverly leading 42-0 with five seconds remaining, coach DeWitt offered Frantz one better. "During the time-out, he met me in the middle of the field and said ‘We’ll let him score,’" Frantz explained. "(Initially) I said ‘Nah.’ Then we talked about it with the referees, and they said ‘Hey coach, we understand." What soon followed will forever go down in Southern Ohio football lore. At Waverly’s 49-yard line, Porter entered the game at tailback, had his play, "84-iso," called in the huddle, and when the ball was snapped all 21 players parted ways. Porter was somewhat surprised when he slowly walked through the huge hole. He initially turned back around to the original line of scrimmage, but everyone on the field, including defensive players from Waverly, pointed and guided Porter toward the Tigers’ end zone. "When we practiced it, he was supposed to down it, so I think he was a little confused at first," Northwest tailback Zach Smith said. "But once he figured it out, he took off." The 49-yard trek to glory took about 10-12 seconds in all, and was culminated by players from both sidelines cheering and running step-for-step with Porter to the end zone. Tears flowed from the bleachers well into the night, and the life of one young man was changed forever. "At Waverly, we didn’t do anything special. We were just happy to be a part of that," a humbled DeWitt said. "That young man was just excited to get the ball. Our guys didn’t care about the shutout; those stats went out the window. "When you’re involved in a moment like that, you want to make sure you end the game with class, decency and respect." 1

We may all learn a lesson from this wonderful example of kindness in the midst of competition. Love for all men is, after all, one of the two great commandments. How’s your “love life?”

1. James Walker in “The Herald-Dispatch”