Seton Hill Men’s basketball team makes Seneca Valley student honorary captain
A Seneca Valley sixth-grader who received racist text messages from his basketball teammates was named an honorary captain at the Seton Hill Men’s Basketball team’s regular season finale against Gannon University on Saturday, March 2.
“We (were) excited to have him as an honorary captain against Gannon,” head coach Ben Wilkins said on Friday. “Sports help bring people of all different backgrounds together.”
Seton Hill’s athletic department reached out to the student’s mother, Amanda Latham, of Cranberry Township, after hearing her son had received racist and bullying text messages from his traveling basketball team in February.
Wilkins said he wanted the Seneca Valley student to understand being on a team is like being part of a family and that he was honored to be able to show a young student what teamwork means.
“We have a strong brotherhood within our program that celebrates all the different backgrounds,” Wilkins said. “Seton Hill is a strong community that brings people together. We want him to experience what being part of a team should be.”
As an honorary captain, the sixth-grader met with coaches from the men’s and women’s teams, was given a tour of the locker room, and ran through drills as the team prepared for their matchup against the Golden Knights.
“He was smiling ear to ear,” said Latham. “This is something that he’ll remember for a lifetime.”
