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Malik Sparkman, cancer victim, granted dying wish by H.S. team

By Matt Verderame

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; General view of footballs on the field before Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; General view of footballs on the field before Super Bowl XLIX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sports are often just a game. They are a distraction for our lives, taking away the angst of an unpaid bill or the problems at work. However, there are times that sports are life-changing. They bond families, they create friendships that last a lifetime. At a Georgia high school in Coffee, Ga., a football team exemplified what sports can mean to the human spirit, per Danielle Elliot of Yahoo Sports.

Malik Sparkman, an 18-year-old linebacker who was dying of kidney cancer, asked that his teammates carry him in his casket through the football field’s tunnel. The journey took place with five of his teammates carrying him through the tunnel, on the way to his eternal resting place.

Sparkman, who was being recruited by Florida State, had better than 500 attendees at his service.

"“Malik was certainly special to all of them,” Coffee County football coach Robby Pruitt told WALB. “Every time I called him and check on him, he’d always say ‘I am great coach.'” Sparkman never complained about the pain, his coach added.“He always said he wasn’t ever gonna give up, and God has him,” Sparkman’s girlfriend, Tia Williams, told WSB-TV. “He was a fighter.”"

The sadness of this story can not be overstated, the pain of the young man’s family indescribable. If nothing else, he was at least given his last wish, facilitated through sports and five of his closest friends.

Rest in peace, Malik.

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