High school wrestler Malik Stewart may not have won a title at the Minnesota state championship, but he certainly won the hearts of the audience when he did something unexpected after his match. Stewart could have just walked away disappointed after losing to opponent Mitchell McKee. Instead he showed what being a “good sport” really means.
He not only shook hands with the winner, but then went over to McKee’s father, whose dealing with terminal cancer, and gave him a hug. A teary-eyed crowd honored both Stewart and McKee with a standing ovation.
Stewart said afterwards: “I got a little teary because I lost the match, and I knew the hard times he was going through. The crowd went wild and I heard a couple people say after I did it, ‘That was pretty classy’- but I just did it straight from the heart.” Stewart could feel for McKee, since he was only 7-years-old when his own father died from a heart attack. Stewart also had this to say about winning and losing: “When you go out there, you want to win. But if you don’t win, you have got to be a good sport and you be polite. That’s the biggest part.”
Good for You, Malik Stewart, for demonstrating what true sportsmanship and compassion for others is all about!
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