Tuesday night, at a middle school basketball game in Lawrence, Kan., Kyle Portela got his shot. Portela, who has cerebral palsy, serves as team manager for Southwest Middle School, but against South, he took the floor and connected:
Get Kyle on SportsCenter
Get Kyle on Sportscenter @SportsCenter @espn pic.twitter.com/8tCD8gBFgQ
— Bryson (@BrysonCummins) February 4, 2015 That tweet and video absolutely exploded on Twitter, spawning the trending topic #GetKyleOnSportsCenter and drawing the attention of Kansas basketball players:
— Wayne Selden Jr. (@WayneSeldenJr) February 5, 2015 It’s made it onto the news, too (via KMBC):
And, it should be noted, the shot in the video was actually one of two baskets Portela made, a fact acknowledged in admiration by that evening’s opponent:
We were all honored to be a part of Kyle Portella's moment today at Southwest. Kid nailed not one but TWO shots! You're an inspiration! #32
— SMS Boys Hoops (@SMS_Hoops2014) February 4, 2015 As of Thursday morning, we haven’t seen Kyle in the Top 10 yet, so the quest continues. It’s a movement generated completely by kids, and it would be awesome to see it succeed. #GetKyleOnSportsCenter.
Update: It worked!
The Lawrence community should be very proud. This morning Kyle Portela made it on SportsCenter! Amazing story! pic.twitter.com/q9x5Qja9tx
— Andrew Baker (@abaker6sports) February 6, 2015 See More:
