Franklin County Times

It seems like every time you turn around you’re hearing something bad about somebody in the sports world.

Extramarital affairs, scandals, bribes, lying, cheating… the list goes on and on.

It gets to the point to where you sometimes wonder where all the athletes are who can be looked up to — who are suitable to be role models for today’s youth.

So when I saw the video and read the story this week about Alabama running back Trent Richardson taking a high school cancer survivor to her senior prom, I couldn’t help but smile and silently thank him for restoring my faith in big-time athletes who tend to get too big for their britches.

I had seen the video story about this event floating around on Facebook for a couple of days before I finally had the time to click on it and watch it in it’s entirety.

It proved to be a good thing I watched it in the privacy of my own home because I ended up crying like a baby as I watched such a selfless act by such a classy person.

High school senior Courtney Alvis spent most of her junior year receiving chemo treatments after she was diagnosed with leukemia — not exactly the thing a teenage girl dreams of doing during her high school years.

As a result of the chemotherapy, Courtney lost her hair, which can be a traumatic experience at any age, but I can’t even imagine being 17 years old and having to walk the high school hallways without hair.

Courtney kept fighting through the treatments and finally made it to the point that she was able to go to her senior prom, but by the time she figured out she could go, no one had asked her.

Enter Trent Richardson.

I’m not sure how Trent found out about Courtney’s situation, but when he did, he sprang into action.

Trent’s mom has cancer, so the star football player knows what Courtney is going through.

He didn’t want the fact that she didn’t have a date to her senior prom be another source of stress in this young girl’s life, so he stepped up and decided to take her to prom.

Trent got a tux that matched Courtney’s dress, he picked her up at her house and asked her dad for permission to take his daughter to the prom.

He treated her to an unforgettable evening where she danced the night away and took home the Homecoming Queen crown.

How nice it is to see people who still do nice things for others just because they want to.

Trent didn’t get a Nike sponsorship or an endorsement from a tuxedo company for going to the prom, but he gained something much more valuable: the friendship of a courageous, brave young girl and an evening both of them will probably never forget.

If you haven’t already seen the video, the link can be found here. It’s definitely something I would recommend: http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/45972/video-trent-richardson-goes-to-prom.