http://www.ndinsider.com/football/n...cle_6fd78320-dfee-11e5-b457-970229b48ce4.html
Troy Pride Jr. didn’t have to take Lina Rafkah to the prom.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back and wide receiver had plenty of reasons not to go. Before Lina approached him in the hallway at Greer Senior High School with an impromptu prom-posal, the two had never met.
Pride’s schedule was already plenty busy with school and track and field, and the prom was barely 24 hours away. Lina has Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes intellectual and developmental disabilities, which Troy was relatively unfamiliar with.
He didn’t know where the prom was being held or what to wear.
But he did know his answer.
“I said, ‘Of course!’ ” Pride recalled. “For her to have enough feelings for me to even ask me and take the time to say, ‘Hey, will you take me to prom?’ I’ll do that. I’ll take her to prom and I’ll be the one to be there for her.”
Troy Pride Jr. didn’t have to take Lina Rafkah to the prom.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back and wide receiver had plenty of reasons not to go. Before Lina approached him in the hallway at Greer Senior High School with an impromptu prom-posal, the two had never met.
Pride’s schedule was already plenty busy with school and track and field, and the prom was barely 24 hours away. Lina has Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes intellectual and developmental disabilities, which Troy was relatively unfamiliar with.
He didn’t know where the prom was being held or what to wear.
But he did know his answer.
“I said, ‘Of course!’ ” Pride recalled. “For her to have enough feelings for me to even ask me and take the time to say, ‘Hey, will you take me to prom?’ I’ll do that. I’ll take her to prom and I’ll be the one to be there for her.”
