Coach 'Adopts' Homeless Player--He's Now Off to West Point After Winning State Championship
One good turn deserves another!! Harding High School in NC held a pep rally to celebrate winning its first state championship since 1953. Wow. That’s when most of these players’ grandparents were in high school! Everyone was in a happy mood, especially Harding coach Sam Greiner who was caught on camera trying to bring back the “Bankhead Bounce” dance!
But there’s more to this story. Much more.
When Coach Greiner unofficially adopted high school football player Braheam Murphy, and their friendship formed a family and won a State Title.
Murphy, the young quarterback sprinting 95 yards for a touchdown in the final minutes to help win Harding High School the state championship, went from homeless to hero.
He was taken in by Coach Greiner two years ago. And two years ago, the team had won only one game and had barely enough players to fill a roster. Look at them now!
Before all this happened, Greiner would often give Murphy a ride home after practice. But he noticed it was rarely to the same place. That got him thinking.
Murphy never talked about his circumstances—that is, until his coach inquired. Now, they call themselves family. Amazing!
“I didn’t know it at first. I didn’t know that Braheam didn’t have a home,” Greiner told CNN. “Eventually he just opened up to me. And he was like, ‘I have to stay with my sister from place to place.’ … And I didn’t know what to do at the time, so I go into my office and I’m thinking, something’s tugging at my heart.”
Greiner called his wife, Connie, and asked to have a guest for dinner who would also need to stay the night. One night turned into two, and eventually “Braheam just became a family member. He’s been living with us ever since.”
Since then, the kindly coach has encouraged Murphy, helping him grow not only into a star athlete but also a star student with plans to attend the US Military Academy at West Point next year. When he first met Greiner, Murphy had a 1.8 GPA. Since moving in with the family, Murphy upped his GPA to a 3.7. See what caring and kindness can do?
Tough times began early. When Murphy was 5, his mother had a fatal brain aneurysm. His father remarried, but had a daughter with cerebral palsy, which left Murphy on his own. Living in an unstable family situation, the young man was never quite sure where he would spend the night. “My dad loves me, but he had to take care of my little sister, and I’d rather have my little sister being taken care of more than me,” he told CNN.
Luckily, he had an interest in football, and a great coach. Imagine where he might be, if not for that.
“He’s a family member of ours. I knew when I met the kid,” said Greiner. And his wife and their two small children feel the same. “They love him. That’s their brother. They don’t look at anything else—that’s their brother,” Connie Greiner said.
Harding University High School is in one of the poorest neighborhoods in West Charlotte. But Greiner took the school’s football team from a 1-10 record to a 14-1 season in just three years. In December, the Rams won the North Carolina 4-A state championship game, the school’s first title since 1953. Murphy’s 95-yard touchdown came with less than two minutes remaining and clinched the 30-22 win. He was selected as offensive MVP of the title game. The coach was recognized, too.
“It was just an amazing experience. We knew we could get there, but the situation of winning the state championship … what we overcame,” Greiner said. “And it all came full circle. … Greatest moment ever to have your family experience that — it really was.”
Murphy said everything that has happened—his better grades, finding a home and a new family, winning State—fell into place thanks to his faith in God. Of the Greiners, he said, “They’re my family. And I can’t imagine where I would be without their support.”
What a wonderful story. It just goes to show how one act of kindness can turn the tide and filter out into the world.
