Indiana high school student James Franklin overcame the odds to be able to play basketball after a lifelong battle with epilepsy.
In August 2017, Franklin underwent brain surgery to alleviate the effects of his condition. His story should serve as an inspiration to any humane person who hears it.
“James is a warrior,” Jason Delaney, his coach, told The Indianapolis Star. “No one sets a better example or fights harder than James Franklin.”
Unfortunately, one of his peers used it to taunt him as he prepared to shoot a free throw on Friday. As the Cathedral High School player stood at the free throw line, a student from the opposing team dropped to the floor and mimicked a seizure.
The mocking continued when Franklin took the ball out of bounds.
“He heard, ‘Have another seizure, have another seizure,’” Tamieka Franklin, his mother, said. “That shows me they did their homework, and it was not a coincidence.”
James later posted a video of the incident on Twitter, which went viral.
He thought it was coo to act as me having a seizure smh pic.twitter.com/dBN0d04FTM
— James Franklin jr. (@Dooman_2) December 1, 2018
The other student, who has not been named, attends Center Grove High School. The school sent a letter home following the incident, reports RTV6.
The letter said the student did not intend to mock James’ epilepsy and claimed an adult monitor did not hear chants referring to seizures.
“That student says his intention was to ‘flop like a fish’ to distract during a free throw,” it read. “He has said he was not aware of the student-athlete's condition until after the game when he was approached by the athlete’s father. He apologized to the father at that time. The administrators monitoring our students did not hear any references to seizures.”
The letter didn’t say anything about disciplining the student but claims he apologized for his behavior.
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