Golden Eagles teach local students about character

By: Simeon Hinsey, Sports Information Director

479-524-7304, shinsey@jbu.edu, sportsinfo@jbu.edu

Through the NAIA’s Champions of Character program, the John Brown University (Ark.) men’s basketball team took a break from basketball on Monday morning to help the first and second grade students of Allen Elementary in Siloam Springs learn about the importance of character and what it means to be fair.

Allen Elementary principal, Cindy Covington, invited the athletes to take part in the school’s Character Assembly. Junior point guard Tyler Dees and several other JBU players planned and performed a skit for the students that helped them better understand the meaning of the words.

The skit placed junior John Williams and sophomore Justin Ritz in a head-to-head race that had Williams being crowned the winner although Ritz was actually the one that crossed the finish line first. Dees went on to explain to the students that it wasn’t fair that the judges deemed Williams the winner because Ritz had actually finished ahead of Williams.

Covington was extremely pleased with the reception the JBU athletes received from her students. 

“The guys did a wonderful job, and brought the meaning of character and fairness to life through their skit,” exclaimed Covington. “Since several of the JBU players are from Siloam Springs, and attended school in Siloam Springs, it was good for the students to see that they’ve become college athletes and role models they can look up to.”

Cody Page, Jon Siemens, Roy Odima, and Alex Wiggs were the other basketball team members that participated in the event. 

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