High school football players stand up against bullying

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A group of high school football players in Arizona is making the news after standing up for a bullied special-needs student at their school.

Chy Johnson, a sophomore at Queen Creek High School, was born with a brain disorder, and her differences have made her the target of constant bullying throughout her life.

Bullying has become a widespread problem throughout the United States and is affecting more and more students like Chy. According to an article in Teen Health, appearance and social status are the two main reasons people are bullied.

From left to right: Carson Jones, Chy Johnson, Tucker Workman and Colton Moore standing in front of the QCHS football team [Photo by Dave Knoer/K-Kamera.com]
In the most recent statistics regarding bullying, it is estimated over 160,000 children miss school every day because they fear being bullied.

Johnson’s mother, who watched her daughter go through the pain of bullying, had to do something. She turned to the one boy she thought could do something for her daughter, Carson Jones.

Jones, an LDS young man, is the starting quarterback for the football team. His team completed its first undefeated season in school history on Friday and is heading into the state playoffs with a No. 2 ranking. However, the team has received more press attention for something much more important.

After receiving a call from Chy’s mom, Jones took action and invited Chy to sit at his lunch table with all the other football players.

]Chy had an immediate connection with “her boys,” is much happier and feels “much safer.”

Upon hearing about this simple act, the press latched onto the story, and it spread not only to the local news organizations but also to national news organizations such as ESPNCNN, the New York Daily News and the Huffington Post.

The team is being nicknamed America’s team for its heart and determination to stop bullying, and Chy and some of her boys will be recognized by the Arizona legislature early next year for their anti-bullying efforts.

“It feels good to know that we helped someone else because we’re doing good and everything for us is going well, but someone else needs to feel good too,” said senior Tucker Workman in a 3TV News video.

The QCHS football team will play in its first state playoff game Friday, and Chy will be in the stands as always, cheering and holding up signs for the boys who changed her life. (The QCHS football team went on to win its first state championship in school history, beating Desert Edge 9-7, by earning a safety in the last seconds of the game to take the lead.)

 

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