Special Team: Chy Johnson & Her Boys

Rick Reilly:

How about a little good news?
In the scrub-brush desert town of Queen Creek, Ariz., high school bullies were throwing trash at sophomore Chy Johnson. Calling her "stupid." Pushing her in the halls.

Chy's brain works at only a third-grade level because of a genetic birth defect, but she knew enough to feel hate.

"She'd come home every night at the start of the school year crying and upset," says her mom, Liz Johnson. "That permanent smile she had, that gleam in her eye, that was all gone."

Her mom says she tried to talk to teachers and administrators and got nowhere. So she tried a whole new path -- the starting quarterback of the undefeated football team. After all, senior Carson Jones had once escorted Chy to the Special Olympics.

"Just keep your ear to the ground," Liz wrote to Carson on his Facebook page. "Maybe get me some names?"

But Carson Jones did something better than that. Instead of ratting other kids out, he decided to take one in -- Chy.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at January 3, 2013 1:01 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas