JMU Baseball Shows Us What Is Good About Sports
The JMU Dukes baseball team has had plenty of highlights on the field this season. The team’s best highlight might have come last Friday at Buckland Mills Elementary School in Haymarket, Virginia however. On that day, the Dukes made a special appearance at the school to surprise 8 year old Justin Brown, a cancer survivor. The team was waiting for Justin when he entered the gym for what he thought was just a regular school assembly. As soon as he entered however, he was greeted by the team who was there to surprise him and take him on the team bus to that afternoon’s game at George Mason.
We’ve written about the Diamond Dukes special relationship with Justin before and it’s one of the things that makes us most proud to be JMU fans. Justin was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was only 2 years old, which caused him to lose his pituatary gland and left him blind in one eye. He was connected with the baseball team 2 years ago through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. The Foundation supports children with brain tumors by matching them with college or high school atheltic teams for support. Justin was declared an official member of the JMU baseball team last year with a letter-of-intent signing ceremony the team held for him. Since becoming a member of the team, Justin has formed a special bond with players on the team. He got to throw out the first pitch at a game last year, has joined the team at games, and even has his own locker. His mother explained the members of the team call Justin at home and have formed special friendships with her son.
We’re constantly reminded of some of the negative aspects of sports, but that just makes stories like this one about Justin Brown and his JMU baseball teammates, that much better.
Great story about a great kid and awesome bunch of guys!