Down Syndrome Basketball Player Inspires Tennessee Team
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Image Credit: ABC
David Andrews plays for his freshman basketball team at Germantown High School outside of Memphis.
He wears the number 40. He leads the pregame chant. He swishes threes. And he has Down syndrome.
“Down syndrome people come in wide spectrum of disability,” said Andrews’ father, Charles. “Some are talkers and some are walkers … David is clearly a walker.”
When Andrews’ mother, Maureen, asked coach Wes Crump if her son could be part of the team that his brother was already on, the coach immediately agreed. But she never expected to see her son practice let alone play.
“Maureen wasn’t asking for anything other than David maybe getting a sweat suit, team shoes, and for him to be on the bench with the team,” Crump told ABC News.
What Crump and the team soon realized was that Andrews, 18, was going to have a bigger impact than anyone could have imagined. Andrews started joining practices and during the team’s fourth game he took to the court with the crowd chanting “We want David! We want David!”
“During the first offensive play, David ran down the left side of the floor into the deep corner. Our point guard pass David the ball, and without hesitating, he shot. Swish!” Crump wrote. “From that game on, it seemed our team had a new goal of getting so far ahead of the other team, that David would have an opportunity to play some minutes.”
Fortunately for Andrews, the Red Devil’s were more than pretty good. They lost only one game all season and he was able to play quite a bit. David even started a game. And the team won the county championship.
Crump said Andrews has put the game into perspective for him. One time after he received a technical foul going into halftime, Andrews’ antics during warm ups prior to the second half lifted his mood.
Andrews was hitting shot after shot from the top of the key and the crowd took notice.
“The CBHS parents were applauding his every basket,” Crump told ABC News. “David turned to the stands every time they applauded and flexed for them. As I watched that exchange, I realized just how little the game meant, and how much David means to me and to the people who get to be around him. It completely changed my attitude. I sat there and just smiled.”
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ABC, I love it when you run these stories!!!!
Posted by: Island B-Ball | February 21, 2012, 6:57 pm 6:57 pm
What an inspirational story. These players and their coach get it. Winning is important, but winning and being able to do so with class and honor is much more rewarding. Germantown is doing it right! Congratulations! Coach Crump, keep up the great work!.
Posted by: Al Macey | February 21, 2012, 7:16 pm 7:16 pm
I know David well! He lives down the street and always says hi when I see him. He has always been a great and inspiring kid! Way to go!! I wish I was home to see him play!
Posted by: devilalum | February 21, 2012, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
Go David!!!
Posted by: Zach Tate | February 21, 2012, 8:05 pm 8:05 pm
Love David, the Andrews family, Coach Crump, and Germantown High. Go Red Devils! Great story.
Posted by: Ethan Carman | February 21, 2012, 9:02 pm 9:02 pm
Beautiful. Just beautiful. Go David!
Posted by: lexingtonlady | February 21, 2012, 9:04 pm 9:04 pm
Stories like this make me believe the world maybe is really getting better, a little bit at a time. Go David!!!
Posted by: jmarklane | February 21, 2012, 9:22 pm 9:22 pm
This is an awesome story!!! Thanks for doing it. Next time please use the ‘person’ first and then Down syndrome. For example: You wouldn’t say that a woman is a “Parkinson’s disease lady”. You would say that it is “a woman who has Parkinson’s disease”. Your headline would be better if it read something like this “Basketball Player With Down Syndrome Inspires Tennessee Team”.
P.S. (I have a son who has Down syndrome.)
Posted by: Diane Kay | February 21, 2012, 10:03 pm 10:03 pm
I loved the story and echo Diane Kay’s request to list the PERSON first and the “label” last. That’s one of my passions…getting the word out that my son “isn’t” Down Syndrome…he’s a great kid that HAS Down Syndrome. When people ask “is he Downs?” or something similar, I always say “nope, he’s a boy who happens to have Down Syndrome.”
Posted by: Kim Stokes | February 21, 2012, 10:18 pm 10:18 pm
It is stories like these that inspire me to reach for the best for my 2-year old, who is already delighting everyone and brightens our lives. Nothing will be impossible for my baby…and yes, he just happens to have Down syndrome too, so now I know he’s in great company! Go David!
Posted by: Marian Ato | February 21, 2012, 10:44 pm 10:44 pm
Yay! So happy to see this! David always makes me smile:)
Posted by: ABoacaccy | February 21, 2012, 11:18 pm 11:18 pm
Really amazing… thanks David and coach Crump.
Posted by: ridep | February 21, 2012, 11:21 pm 11:21 pm
Thank you so much to the parents for not aborting this beautiful boy. Over 90% of babies diagnosed with Downs Syndrome are aborted. I hope stories like this will help lower that number. I am so jealous of David’s parents; they have a wonderful son.
Posted by: June | February 22, 2012, 2:02 am 2:02 am
Andrewsational!!!
Posted by: Rory | February 22, 2012, 4:03 am 4:03 am
Great article, poor title, PEOPLE FIRST, A basketball player that has down syndrome. People first, we are not defined by what genes we have, or we should not be rather !!!Still great article.
Posted by: Karen Boger | February 22, 2012, 9:08 am 9:08 am
Just give our kids an opportunity. Then everyone involved gets to share in the magic! Thanks for taking the time to cover these stories.
Posted by: Roz Welch | February 22, 2012, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
What an awesome awesome story!!! I bet the Andrew’s familoy are so proud!!! Such an inspiration!!!
Posted by: Jennifer | February 22, 2012, 6:33 pm 6:33 pm
What a wonderful story!!! Good job Coach Crump…keep on keeping on in the name of the Lord!!!
Posted by: Tennessee Thunder | February 23, 2012, 9:36 am 9:36 am
Congratulations to DAVID! Great article!
I worked with Special Olympic athletes for many years. It was the most rewarding & heartfelt experience.
I now have a nephew, Alan Edward ,who is turning 1, and in a few years this beautiful boy is going to be scoring for his hometown Special Olympics team!
Posted by: Amy S. | February 23, 2012, 1:26 pm 1:26 pm
wow, this story just made my heart smile :)
Posted by: Effia | February 23, 2012, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
The part I liked best and which was kind of glossed over, is the support he apparently gets from the rest of the student body! What a great bunch of teens! They obviously have terrific parents as role models and are an example of the best of the best when it comes to high school kids. Good job Germantown High School. You’re great!
Posted by: Joyce | February 23, 2012, 10:03 pm 10:03 pm
Person 1st is an absolute MUST! As the proud mother of a 3yr olf with Down Syndrome it makes my stomach churn and heart ache everytime I see a title like this. Our kids are amazing and capable of so much more than people give them credit for. Having a child with Down sydrome is a blessing not a curse. We need to get he word out how fantastic all of our children are. Go David!
Posted by: Catie P. | February 24, 2012, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
The sad part to this whole story is what got missed. There is a culture of inclusion on many teams for Germantown High School. This year they had a young man with special needs make the state wrestling tournament. The coaches and team treat him just like everyone else. Unless you talk to the young man, you would never know he has any disability at all. Instead of showing the culture of inclusion, the administration broke several of their “strict policies” to make this story what the national press wanted, and snubbed all of the other athletes with special needs along with their team mates.
Posted by: Cami Haddix | February 25, 2012, 1:37 am 1:37 am
Wow! What a story!! Why can’t the Media bring more of this kind of news to the press? Just sayin’
The Media is always showcasing the negative. This story makes people want to go out and do good things…
Good Job ABC News!!
Posted by: Shawn | February 25, 2012, 8:33 pm 8:33 pm
Great story! Just one comment. David is a basketball player with Down Syndrome, he is NOT a “Down Syndrome Basketball Player”. He is a person first who just happens to be differently abled. We MUST use person first language when referring to these inspiring young people who prove that a physical challenge is not a title or curse. It is an obstacle that many overcome and turn into stepping stones to success! Go David!!!!
Posted by: Mom of Four | February 28, 2012, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm