John Wall referees Special Olympics basketball game
John Wall, joined by a few of his teammates, Mystics players and Harlem Globetrotters, were at St. Coletta of Greater Washington on Tuesday to team up with Special Olympics D.C. for the annual Unified Game.
Wall and Mystics guard Natasha Cloud acted as referees for the game, which serves as an opportunity for people with or without intellectual disabilities to work together on teams.
.@T_Cloud4 reffed alongside @JohnWall tonight at the Special Olympics Unified Game! #MysticsCares #RWord #Respect pic.twitter.com/uIwQl9aG80
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) March 15, 2016
"Seeing the guys on TV, just following them. And now they're reffing our game and we can just talk to them." special Olympian James Black said while reflecting on the game with Monumental Sports Network.
. @SpecOlympics_DC athletes Novie and James love to #playunified thanking @JohnWall for showing support tonight! pic.twitter.com/aoGbSDnrsp
— Mandy N. Murphy (@mandynmurphy) March 15, 2016
Wizards players Ramon Sessions, Otto Porter, Jarrell Eddie and Garrett Temple held down spots as honorary coaches while Marcin Gortat lent his golden voice to the P.A. for the Unified Game, whose goal is to raise awareness for the Spread the Word campaign, an effort to reduce the use of the word "retard."
And despite the game not being held on the NBA hardwood, everyone maintained their competitive spirit.
"It's a game, but as coaches we're over here real serious and the players are playing hard." Sessions said. "It's real competitive, the teams are equal, so it's fun."
It's great to see Wall and the Wizards supporting such a worthy cause.
Always bringing joy to the @SpecialOlympics Unified Game, Ref @JohnWall #rword #WizCares #Respect https://t.co/VZ5P89napn
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) March 15, 2016
