truly Christlike

Every Mormon knows all about church ball. Heck, there's even been a movie made about it. It's the subject of jokes and the stuff of legends. It's rough. It's vicious. It's foul (no pun intended).

 I think it's the exact opposite of Special Olympics basketball.

I had the privilege of watching Alec play this past weekend. What a joy and what an example. One of his teammates, Jason, had an open shot. However, unselfishly, he tried to pass the ball to a teammate who hadn't even touched the ball yet. He missed and hit an opponent in the head with the ball (don't worry. it wasn't thrown hard). The other team came up with the ball and headed down court to try to score. Was Jason concerned about the turnover? Heck, no! He was apologizing for having hit the other player. He insisted he didn't mean to.

Where else but Special Olympics could you see players all gathered around a teammate who is upset about missing a shot? Again, they aren't concerned about the other team shooting the basket uncontested. They are worried about their teammate's feelings and are reassuring her that she is doing a great job.

There are so few fouls in Special Olympics. They don't want to hurt anyone.  If anyone does get hurt, play automatically stops because everyone from both teams is checking on the injury and trying to help.

 These athletes are the best examples of Christlike behavior you'll ever see.