Baylor basketball player Isaiah Austin was just given news that would seem to make all the hours of work that he put into basketball his whole life for nothing, or was it? Earlier this year, Isaiah, in his second year of college basketball, declared for the draft with the hopes of hearing his name called in the draft and eventually playing in the NBA. This dream was shattered when Isaiah found out during a standard physical that he has Marfan syndrome. This genetic disorder is very serious because it causes strain on the cardiovascular system along with other things. Most importantly for Isaiah, it meant he would not be playing competitive basketball anymore.
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| photo courtesy of krnb.com |
Isaiah seems to have his body working against his will to play basketball. When he was younger he had a complication with an eye injury causing blindness in his right eye. He overcame that obstacle by effort and hard work, but unfortunately this new diagnosis of Marfan syndrome spells the end of his playing days. It would seem again that all of his dedication and work have been for nothing, but Isaiah’s attitude and recent statements prove the opposite. He says in one of his tweets, “But it’s not the end; only the beginning.” This attitude will help him accept the life he has been given and continue to achieve. While Austin is undoubtedly upset about not being able to pursue his dreams in the NBA, something that he has worked most of his life for--laying in countless tournaments, and practicing for hours and hours at a time-- this commitment was not for nothing. Austin has already committed to helping others, starting with working with the Marfan Foundation to increase awareness of the disease.
Some people chose sports as a career, but the majority of people who do sports do them or put their children in them for three other reasons: for the physical activity, for the skill development, and three to teach valuable life lessons. One of these valuable life lessons is how to pick yourself back up after you fall. This could be if if you trip on your own or if you fall because of forces beyond your control; but however you get to the ground there is one thing in sports you always have to do, and that is to get back up and brush yourself off. I believe that in any sport and any age this lesson is learned by athletes, including Austin. While this past week has clearly been quite difficult for him, he has handled himself with such grace that the NBA drafted him anyway, thus fulfilling a lifelong dream of hearing his name called in the draft. Austin's experience of sports may not be giving him his dream career anymore but, it is giving him the tools to pick himself up after this, brush himself off, and continue on in the game of life.
