SANTA ANA, Calif. (WTVR) – When Beau Howell checked into his high school’s basketball game Saturday night, the opposing players had no idea the Trinity Classical Academy Knights freshman had autism. They had no idea that despite getting playing time in 10 previous games, Howell had yet to score.
All they knew was the crowd cheered loudly for Howell and that they were losing by so many points, it did not matter much what happened next.
But they were wrong. What happened next was captured on video and is being called a great act of sportsmanship as the viral video is viewed around the world.
“We saw him come on the court and everyone giving him a standing ovation, and he probably hadn’t scored in his life,” Desert Chapel senior Taner Alvarez told signalscvsports.com. “Why not let him score in the biggest game of his life?”
After a called timeout, Alvarez passed the ball to Howell and encouraged him to shoot. After a few misses, he told Howell to move closer.
That’s when it happened.
Howell shot and scored.
“To see how this team, who doesn’t know our school, certainly doesn’t know Beau, to see the way they responded was such an incredible blessing,” Beau Howell’s mother told signalscvsports.com. “They had the opportunity to be disappointed and focus on themselves. It was a hard game for them, but they immediately responded in a beautiful way.”
Howell said while he knew the other team let him score, he was just happy he made the shot.
