Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for January 24, 2006 CAIRO'S CHRIS WILLIAMS WINS BIT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

An Opinion/Editorial by SI columnist Jim Muir in today's Southern Illinoisan...

From Where I Sit: This basketball player has skills - and character

Two very different people left their respective homes last Wednesday evening unaware that by chance their paths would cross and the impact of that meeting would affect thousands of people.

Let me explain.

Maxine Pendell is 81 years old and lives with her son, Charlie, in McLeansboro. Longtime McLeansboro (now Hamilton County High School) Foxes fans, the pair have gone to sporting events together for decades.

The last few years have not been good to Maxine healthwise. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and last year she suffered a stroke. Despite those setbacks she still trudges off to games with Charlie, carrying with her a small stuffed animal - a fox for her favorite team.

"She knows she's at a ball game, but she really doesn't connect with everything that's going on," her son said. "Her caregivers say it's good for her, though, and sometimes they have to bribe her to eat or to get her bath by telling her that she has to get ready to go to a basketball game."

Chris Williams is 17 years old and has grown up in Cairo, Illinois' southernmost city, a city that in recent years has been synonymous with poverty and bad news. On top of that, Williams has not had an easy life. Williams has never known his parents and has been raised by his grandmother, who has several children living with her, including Williams' brother and sister.

A spokesperson at Cairo High School said Williams, nicknamed "Birdie," has had a "tough life," but quickly added that nobody would ever know based on his everyday demeanor.

"If you're having a bad day, Chris is the person you want to see ... he smiles through everything," the spokesperson said. "If we had a school full of kids like him we wouldn't have any trouble here."

Maxine and Charlie Pendell were in their familiar seats, front row, center court, last Wednesday night at the Benton Invitational Tournament when Williams and his Cairo Pilot teammates tipped off against the Hamilton County Foxes. Nobody could have imagined when the game began that before the final buzzer sounded the Pendells and Williams would be forever linked in the wonderful history of the tournament.

The game was uneventful with McLeansboro holding a big lead over Cairo when fourth-quarter play began. At about the midway point of the fourth quarter, Williams was going for a loose ball near the sidelines and collided with Maxine, jolting the elderly woman.

While the referee stood and held the ball waiting for Williams to take it out of bounds, the Cairo senior turned away from the official and knelt down beside Maxine, taking her by the hand while he talked to her for a few minutes to make sure she was all right.

"He (Williams) must have talked to her for two or three minutes while the referee waited," Charlie Pendell said after the incident. "He simply wasn't going to resume play until he was sure she was all right."

I was at the game and was amazed at what I had witnessed - amazed a young person would totally ignore the game he was a part of to be concerned about an elderly lady. Little did I know the story would get better.

Immediately after the game - a game Cairo lost by a score of 84-60 - and after the players shook hands, I noticed that Williams walked over to the elderly lady and once again took her hand and knelt down to talk with her and make sure she was not hurt. While many fans might not have even noticed the gesture, it was one of the single greatest acts of kindness and sportsmanship I've ever witnessed.

"You don't find many kids like that anymore," Charlie Pendell said.

In 1999 the family of the late Robert Blondi started a sportsmanship award at the tournament in honor of the longtime sports official who died in 1997. It marked one of the high water marks in the tournament's history on Saturday night when more than 2,500 fans rose to their feet to give a standing ovation to this year's winner - Chris Williams.

There were some great plays at the Benton Invitational Tournament this year, some spectacular dunks, some great three-point shooting and some hard-nosed defense. But, the "play" of the week came when a 17-year-old kid, who's had to overcome more than a few obstacles in his own life, took the hand of an 81-year-old woman, who's in the twilight of her life.

I talked to Williams after the presentation and he was thrilled he won the award, but also somewhat surprised.

"I'm happy I won," Williams said. "But, they didn't have to give me an award for doing that. I just wanted to check and make sure she was OK ... wouldn't anybody have done that?"

No, Chris, it's sad to say, but not everybody would have done what you did.

In fact, only somebody with a big heart, loads of compassion and a caring nature would have taken the time to show that much concern, two different times, for an elderly lady.

In today's lingo, as a basketball player Chris Williams has "got game." However, as a person Chris Williams has "got character." Basketball players and basketball skills will come and go - but character lasts forever.

Legendary basketball player "Pistol" Pete Maravich once said, "Athletics don't built character - they reveal it."

A lot was revealed last week about Cairo's Chris Williams.

JIM MUIR is a columnist for The Southern Illinoisan and can be reached at writeon1@shawneelink.net.

The Blondi family sent the picture below to Bobby Mayberry, who was gracious enough to allow us to share it with you.

Pictured (from left to right) are Donna Blondi, Bobby Blondi, Chris Williams # 15 Cairo, Robby Blondi, Andrea Blondi, Emma Blondi, and Brett Blondi.