Gina Jackson Personal Fitness

Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do is all this story is about. It applies to sports, politics and life. Thankfully some hearts move without being told.

If there already weren’t enough reasons to get your child involved in sports, the story of Sara Tucholsky will give you another one.

Ms. Tucholsky plays softball for Western Oregon University, but in her high school and college careers, the 5-foot-2 player had never hit a home run. On the last Saturday in April, in a game against Central Washington University, she hit her first home run over the fence. But as she began to run the bases, a misstep resulted in a torn knee ligament and she couldn’t continue.

The umpire mistakenly ruled that a team member couldn’t run in her place or assist her around the bases. A member of the opposing team, first baseman Mallory Holtman, the career home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Ms. Tucholsky run the bases. He said they could, and Ms. Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace carried her around the field as she gently tapped her uninjured leg on each base.

At least 150,000 people have now watched videos of the moment on YouTube. To see ESPN’s take on it, grab a tissue and watch below.

Reprinted from NYTimes May 7 2008