Benefield: Locals reach out to Kansas kid wronged by his high school

They came in envelopes, some with notes, some without. School officials sent some - sharp, new and bright. Ex-athletes sent others, the corners frayed from time and wear.

Brian Sumpter guesses he’s got about 175 now. One hundred and seventy-five school block letters - you know, the ones typically affixed to jackets that athletes wear around campus announcing their sporting achievement.

Sumpter, sports editor at the Lake County Record-Bee, plans to ship off his box of felt, wool and cotton alphabet soup at the end of this month, his own response to that debacle in Wichita, Kan.

“This may be a small injustice compared with things that go on in the world - I just wanted to show the kid that he’s appreciated,” he said.

That kid is Michael Kelley, a high schooler with Down syndrome who competed on his school’s special needs basketball team. Seems Kelley wore a letterman jacket with pride, but school officials said, in effect, hang it up. It’s not a true varsity letter, he was told.

“I just felt that this kid has had enough things go against him in life,” Sumpter said. “He’s trying to do the best he can, showing support for his high school, and it just made me upset that a school would do that.

“Covering sports, I see the good and the bad, but mostly it’s good,” he said. “It’s all about your teammates, it’s all about your school and showing pride and support.”

But sometimes, it’s about a pushy parent who points out that Kelley wasn’t on a varsity squad, or a weak administrator who follows the letter of the law rather than the spirit. In his days covering sports, Sumpter has seen a lot unfold, but he can’t remember anything quite like this.

So he began collecting letters from area schools - until area schools expanded into California schools and even beyond. Sumpter is opening his mail and finding vintage letters, letters clearly worn by the sender, as well as those fresh off the presses from school offices.

He’s sending them all to Kelley.

“Many of these letters came from people who gave their own high school letters to this kid,” he said. “Somebody said, ‘Well, this kid needs it more than I need it.’ I’ve gotten four or five like that.”

In the weeks since Kelley’s clothing choice made national news, saner heads have prevailed. The Wichita school board approved new guidelines that direct schools to award letters to students who play on a special ed league team for at least two seasons, participate in at least 70 percent of practices and games, demonstrate good sportsmanship, give consistent effort, exhibit respect and maintain good standing academically.

Sounds a lot like what we ask of our varsity athletes.

Trish Delzell, athletic director at Piner High, who collected letters from Sonoma County League and Santa Rosa City Schools campuses to send to Sumpter, had a particularly thorny burr under her saddle on this one. All students can thrive in a sporting community - all students, she said.

She should know. Delzell teaches special education at Piner and often encourages her students to try out for teams. They listen. She’s had football players and soccer players who spend days in her classroom and afternoons wearing Piner’s maroon and gold on the field of play.

“I see confidence, I see them making friends outside of the special education community,” she said.

Special ed students can sometimes feel cloistered in far-flung classrooms, apart from the rest of the school community. Sports can bridge that gap, she said.

“It doesn’t say ‘Special Ed’ stamped across your forehead,” she said.

No, it says Piner High - written across your chest. Or Montgomery. Or Petaluma.

The uniform says the school name but it means more than that. It means team, time, commitment, respect, work, responsibility. And done well, it says pride.

Michael Kelley showed pride in his high school despite its very public failure to support him.

He’ll soon have a box of athletic letters from scores of local folks who honor that pride and are proud of him.

You can reach staff ?columnist Kerry Benefield at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com, ?on Twitter @benefield and on Instagram at kerry.benefield.