EAST LANSING, Mich. - It is rare to enter Michigan State’s IM East gym and not see pickup basketball games or intense intramural volleyball leagues. But on Sunday evenings, throughout February and March, the courts sit empty, awaiting Special Olympics MSU to take the floor.
The multi-purpose gym fills with around 30 athletes and 10 dedicated volunteers. Several arrive dressed in Jeremy Fears Jr. jerseys, Stephen Curry t-shirts, and vintage Detroit Pistons memorabilia. Participants of all ages are brought together through a shared love of basketball and some lively competition, but the real focus of the group remains on community and friendship.
“Special Olympics [MSU] is a program where we bring together students at Michigan State with people in the local community who might have some type of mental disability, whether that be autism or Down syndrome,” club secretary Bryanna Corbitt, a human resources and labor relations senior, said. “We create a community that lets them bond with each other and through sports specifically.”
The student-led organization runs two sports leagues throughout the academic year: flag football in the fall and basketball in the spring. Each semester begins with an assessment day, where athletes complete various practice drills like passing and shooting. Volunteers gauge the experience levels and form six official teams.
Special Olympics has unified sports programs across the country, providing individuals with intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays or closely related developmental issues the opportunity to compete together on the same team. The school spirit and competitive nature surrounding MSU Athletics stands out to potential participants, drawing them specifically to Special Olympics MSU.
“[The participants] love for Michigan State is so ingrained in sports. They love to talk about football, basketball, and different players,” vice president Bella Yeske, a social relations and policy senior, said. “It is a really fun conversation for them to have.”
The players’ passion for MSU sports has caught the attention of Division I athletes across campus. Two seasons ago, former MSU basketball star Jaden Akins, now in the NBA G-League, surprised the club at one of their games.
“[The situation] was almost flipped. We were always cheering for [Akins], but then he was cheering for them,” Yeske said. “It was so fun.”
Special Olympics MSU embraces rivalries and just like any Spartan fans, the club feels a certain way towards the Wolverines. Each fall, Special Olympics MSU and Special Olympics UMich plan a flag football game for the day before the annual football matchup. Yeske said the Special Olympics game from her sophomore year is her favorite club memory.
“It was a hard fought game. We were all battling. I think it was raining. Then, all of a sudden, we ended up winning. I just remember how excited the athletes were,” she said. “I have chills talking about it right now…We kind of all came together and obviously it’s fun to beat a Michigan team because it’s such a rivalry game.”
Special Olympics MSU acts as a way for athletes like CJ Riemer to get some exercise while being around his friends. The 20-year-old, who has Down syndrome, also runs a Facebook page at WCJR Weather.
He has posted daily weather forecasts since April 2020, building a following of almost 3,000. A few of his videos feature familiar faces: fellow Special Olympics MSU members and volunteers, like Corbitt and Bridget Hafner, the club’s president and recent psychology graduate.
“Today is Movement Monday. We are here at Special Olympics for movement,” Riemer said in his introduction segment filmed at the final game of the season at IM East. He films the day prior to posting, and enjoys giving each weather report its own theme and title.
Friendships are bound to develop between athletes, but bonds have also cultivated amongst volunteers. Yeske found comfort knowing that her fellow volunteers held similar morals and values.
“I think a lot of the [MSU] students who take the time out of their day to come to Special Olympics, it means something to them too,” Yeske said. “They have a good moral base and that’s who I want to surround myself with.”
The club has begun to wrap up their activities for the academic year. Hafner said she feels proud of what Special Olympics MSU accomplished during her presidency, despite challenges faced along the way.
A decline in volunteer participation left some of the basketball teams short-handed throughout the season. The club’s leadership team hopes to continue marketing their group to MSU students through events like Sparticipation, the university’s annual back-to-school club fair.
“We need a little bit of larger of an arsenal in order to make sure that everything runs smoothly,” Hafner said. “We still persevered and with the people that were showing up, we were able to put all of this on, which is really exciting and rewarding.”
Serving as executive board members for Special Olympics MSU altered both Hafner and Yeske’s career trajectory in unexpected ways. Hafner now sees a future working with children with intellectual disabilities, while Yeske hopes to use her degree in social relations and policy to build a more inclusive world.
“Originally, I did not know if I wanted to work with children with neurodevelopmental disorders, but after doing Special Olympics for so long, I’m like, ‘This is definitely what I want to do with the rest of my life’,” Hafner said.
Special Olympics MSU represents all the positives in sports. Even when the Green team scored a basket, the White team still cheered. When Riemer refused to play defense and only stayed under his team’s basket, his teammate still fed him the ball to attempt a layup. There were plenty of high-fives after the game concluded and murmurs about an upcoming Lansing Lugnuts baseball game outing.
The competitive spirit amongst participants came alive, and disappointment was present in the losing team’s post-game huddle. One thing is clear though: this club has made an immense impact on the lives of all involved. Corbitt, Yeske, and Hafner all agree that MSU is a better place because of inclusive spaces, especially in fitness.
“I think it is important because we are such a large community at MSU and we have the potential to do so many amazing things,” Hafner said. “If we do not use our resources to our potential, we are going to miss out on meeting and growing communities, especially the special needs community.”
When asked what he enjoyed most about Special Olympics MSU, Riemer kept it simple.
“My favorite part of Special Olympics is lots of basketball,” he said.