Espn why i stayed

She also speaks on topics of poverty, education, disability and transracial adoption in addition to her Christian faith and its relevancy in both her media career and daily life. A graduate of Cornell University, she continues to produce sports stories and write about the redemptive power of love. Lisa has since moved from Cleveland and now resides in Boston with her husband and two young children.

They arise suddenly, jaggedly, too often shatteringly, as occurs in real life. And as in real life, the moments of understanding, of healing, of unbounded joy will astonish you with the scope of their power.

We see the many ways in which one person can carry another, and we are inspired to do the same. Each time I shared exciting new developments with them, Dartanyon gushed with thank-yous and hugs, broad grins and relieved exhales. But Leroy's stoic posture never budged. I'm not even sure you're on the line. He once told me that Christmas was his least favorite holiday because his mom wrapped up Bazooka bubble gum and toys from around the house, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Having never known pleasure, he had not developed the language to respond to it. I stayed because I vowed right then to fill Leroy's life with a thousand good things until he simply burst with joy. I had my doubts that he could manage on his own, but time and again, he disarms his skeptics.

He was the first in his family to graduate from high school, and, this August, he will be the first to receive a college diploma. Dartanyon and I will be in the front row, listening as the sound of this cycle of poverty shatters. Recognizing his natural athletic abilities, coaches invited him to live at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to learn the Paralympic sport of judo.

This was akin to a winning lottery ticket -- shelter, sport, mentors, school, medical care and, as he proudly showed me on a visit to Colorado, his first bed. In a blur, he swiped a spot on the Paralympic team to London. Leroy and I crossed the pond and celebrated in the front row as the bronze medal was draped around Dartanyon's neck.

Once forgotten by the world, Dartanyon stood on top of it. And he is right. Blind and legless kids from the ghettos don't get college educations and shiny accolades, but they should.

And that is why I stayed. Because hope and love and rejoicing and redemption can happen to kids like them. And people like me, people from the "other side," who can soften life's blows for them, ought to help. Those who know the story behind this story heap a lot of credit onto me for dedicating my past four years to improving Dartanyon's and Leroy's lives. Indeed, I have spent thousands of hours removing obstacles from the paths of their dreams, providing for their needs, reprogramming poorly learned habits, exposing new horizons and piling on the encouragement they need to rise above.

I drove Dartanyon to the dentist to drill the first of 15 cavities. I taught Leroy how to pay a bill. I sat with Dartanyon at the social security office to apply for disability benefits, something he could have received all his life had anyone submitted the forms for him. I soothed the burn of Leroy's broken heart and phantom limbs. And through it all, we grew into an eclectic family of our own. We carried on.

When he made a visit to the eye doctor in , I asked Dartanyon to include me on the consent form so I could access his records if need be. Later that day, I received a call from the office administrator. Skip to main content Skip to navigation.

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Charlotte Hornets. I asked a few questions. And so I left. I came back a third night, same thing. I know it's not easy for you, so I'm not going to come back. But I think somewhere, deep inside, you have a lot to say. And I think it's probably important.

You wanna see it? And he certainly didn't fully trust me, but he was willing to take a chance. She interviewed her subjects and researched their backgrounds. She maintained proper journalistic distance from the two teenagers. Even though she did buy them dinner at Subway after their shoots. Until one day when she discovered that she couldn't be just an observer anymore.

Lisa offered to help Dartanyon replace his things. And Dartanyon accepted. But she'd need cash. So she turned to her cameraman — his name is Kameron — and asked if she could borrow some money.

Lisa was about to do something journalists aren't supposed to do. She was going to affect the outcome of her story. And that's not a good idea — for the story, for the reporter and sometimes even for the people being interviewed.

But here's the thing: Have you ever found yourself watching a video and something really awful is happening — and no one is doing anything to stop it? For Kameron, it was watching nature films about baby sea turtles trying to survive their short walk from the sand to the sea. So, go. Go cross that sacred line of journalistic ethics. Go save the turtles. Lisa shot hours of video — about hours more than normal. She spent two months editing. That's a job that usually takes just two weeks.

ESPN aired the story in August Leroy and Dartanyon got on the phone as soon as it was over. We both just understood that it was powerful. Dartanyon and Leroy didn't yet know how much power was in their story. But Lisa was starting to find out. Soon, there was money for college, so Lisa helped Leroy and Dartanyon make it through their entrance exams and college applications.

She took them shopping for school supplies. Leroy moved to Phoenix to study video game development at Collins College of Design.

And Dartanyon attended school in Colorado while training with the Paralympic judo team in Colorado Springs. But now, I was dealing with essentially preteens in terms of the life skills that they had," Lisa says. Leroy and Dartanyon struggled in school.

Lisa had them both tested and found that their skills were far below grade level. Lisa taught them how to write up a budget. But they still ran out of money almost as soon as it was deposited in their bank accounts. To hear Leroy and Dartanyon tell it, it wasn't that bad. Leroy says the schoolwork was easy — it was just the organizational skills he was lacking. And Dartanyon admits that training with the Paralympic team was stressful. But it was nothing like the stress of wondering where he'd be sleeping the next night.

And now he was standing at the top of a Paralympic podium with a medal around his neck.