Sportsmanship shines at El Paso middle school game as rivals help teammate score

EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — A moment of sportsmanship at an El Paso middle school basketball game is drawing widespread praise after students from two opposing teams worked together to help a player with disabilities score.

The incident went viral on social media, with viewers applauding the effort to make the student feel included.

In a video shared by FitFam, players from the Garcia Enriquez and East Montana middle schools teamed up during last week’s game to help fellow player Ian Morales score, despite being opponents.

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Sportsmanship shines at El Paso middle school game as rivals help teammate score (Credit: Fitfam)

Speaking to KFOX14/CBS4 on Wednesday, school staff and Ian’s mother said they were grateful to see support from other students.

“I was very excited that he was in the game and very thankful for the support from the coaches and the teammates. I would like to thank all the support of the teachers and coaches for giving him the opportunity to be on the team and that he’s included in the team, regardless of him having his disability, that they still treat him as another teammate, and they’re always there for him,” Patricia Morales said.

Johnny Tapia, a basketball coach at Garcia Enriquez Middle School where Ian is a student. , said the moment was “bigger than basketball,” adding that it could encourage others to be more inclusive.

“It was emotional. It just… I just liked the way that happened. It happened. It went with the flow and I want to give a shout-out to East Montana Middle School. Because their kids were great, you know, just like our kids. They all worked together to get that shot for Ian, and that alone is just- it’s bigger than basketball when it comes to that. I think it’s just the support,” Tapia said.

Tapia added that moments like these help motivate children with disabilities to be involved in activities and other events.

“Everybody deserves a chance. This is going to help everybody else feel motivated to include, you know, students with disabilities on their team as well,” Tapia said.

For Ian, who has been playing basketball for two years, the moment was just about being able to play basketball with all of his friends, adding that he was just excited to score.

“I’m participating in playing basketball with my friends. And thank you for the basketball team, like, the support. I was playing basketball for all day. And I was playing soccer with my friend at P.E., and then I was with my friends, like I was very excited. I was really excited in my game for scoring,” Ian said.

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