'Maybe he's the best human' - Basketball player’s act of kindness goes viral

Monmouth University basketball player Sam Ibiezugbe carried an injured player off the court.

News 12 Staff

Dec 24, 2019, 2:51 AM

Updated 1,593 days ago

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An act of kindness went viral this holiday season.
Monmouth University basketball player Sam Ibiezugbe was rooting on the Monmouth women’s team when a player from the opposing team fell and got hurt. That’s when Ibiezugbe quickly sprang into action to help.
“Got up and went to go do it. I didn’t even think about it. It was just instinctive,” he says. “She needed help like just another human being.
Manhattan College’s Lynette Tait couldn’t put pressure on her leg. Ibiezugbe carried her off the court and told her that everything would be OK. Tait is expected to miss the rest of the season, but is doing well.
“Even when other people felt awkward to do the right thing, I would be the one to stand up and do it,” Ibiezugbe says.
Ibiezugbe, who stands a whopping 7 feet tall, says that he has always been supportive to others. A picture from high school shows him helping an opponent.
High school is where Ibiezugbe started to carve out his own path. He left a tight-knit family behind in Nigeria for a scholarship at a New York prep school. He says that he hasn’t seen his family in eight years – even missing his father’s funeral.
“Well, I hope I’m making him proud in the little things that I do,” Ibiezugbe says.
One Monmouth University official wrote as he witnessed Ibiezugbe in action, “Every other man there (including me) just watched. Dude is not human. Or maybe he's the best human.”
"Just be able to spread humanity and let other people know that I’m here with you. I stand with you, I listen to you,” Ibiezugbe says.
Ibiezugbe says that he wants to use that mindset to help bring communities together.
Ibiezugbe and Tait FaceTimed Monday so that he could see how she was doing.


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