Middle-school basketball team walks off court to protest bullying of cheerleader with Down Syndrome

“Sweet, kind, awesome, and amazing.”

Those are the four words that Desiree Andrews, an eighth grader in Kenosha, Wisconsin, used to describe a beautiful show of kindness that sparked her story to go viral.

Born with Down Syndrome, Desiree is a normal teen who enjoys dancing for her school cheerleading squad. However, while performing a routine during a home basketball game last year, people sitting in the bleachers started to make fun of her for ‘dancing to her own music’.

Players from the team were having none of it. As soon as the boys heard the bullies, they decided to call a timeout, and walked off the court.

They told the bullies, “Don’t mess with her.”

Brandon Morris, the Lincoln Middle School basketball coach last year, said, “All of the guys got together to show her support.”

“We were mad; we didn’t like that. We asked our sports director to talk to the people and tell them not to make fun of her,” said fourteen-year-old Miles Rodriguez, one of the players who stood up for Desiree.

He said the incident sparked a change in their school, “Everyone loves her now.”