Steph Curry High School Visit Matt Amaral Hayward , California June 2015
Dear Steph Curry , Now That You Are MVP Please Don ’ t Come Visit My High School
By Matt Amaral English teacher at Mt . Eden High School in Hayward , California
a Dubs fan . Always have been , always will be . I pass by Oracle Arena every day to and from work . Traffic is so bad on 880 I often get to admire , at length , the giant hanging posters adorned with your face and the gaudy playoff decorations in blue and gold . Those also happen to be the school colors of the high school nearby where I teach . I have a Baron Davis jersey from We Believe , I grew up watching Run TMC . I giggled each and every time Manute Bol drained a three . When I was a wee lad one of my favorite things to say over and over was Sarunas Marciulionis . I am a Bay Area native , and the Warriors are my team .
Dear Steph I am
And I love you . You would be my favorite player except for I have a soft spot for emotionally unstable crazies , and so I really love me some Draymond Green . But you are amazing and I also give you credit for being an amazing person off the court as well . But I have to ask you to do me a solid and make sure you don ’ t ever come visit my high school .
I know the NBA does great things in the community , and I realize the Warriors are no exception . Your boy Klay Thompson is a finalist for the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for having such an impact in and around Oakland this year . The NBA Cares campaign continually shows the league is committed to getting out in the community and helping those in need . When you get involved in soup kitchens , wrap Christmas presents for needy kids , and build homes for the homeless I am inspired . But where those kinds of civic-minded activities have clear benefits , I have to tell you something you probably haven ’ t heard : Coming to poor high schools like mine isn ’ t going to help any of these kids out , in fact , it might make things worse .
You see , Steph ( I hope you don ’ t mind if I call you Steph ), if you come to my school you will be your usual inspiring , humble , hilarious , kind self and you will say all the right things . But the reason I don ’ t want you to come has to do with what you won ’ t say .
You won ’ t say that since the day you were born you had a professional one-onone tutor who helped you hone your skills on a daily basis . Your father Dell Curry was an NBA great just like you are after him , but you will not remind the poor kids at my school that they have never had such a wonderful instructor and they never will .
And if you do ever visit my school , you also won ’ t mention that along with your father ’ s success came all the monetary rewards NONE of my students have , like three square meals a day ; a full sized court and hoop in the backyard ; a sense of safety ; a mother and a father ; top schools , top peers , and community resources . I know you might not think of it like this , but you might as well have come from another planet . But you won ’ t say that , will you ?
I mean , look at Klay Thompson . I wonder if anyone else finds it odd that the best shooting back-court in NBA history were both born with silver balls .
You also won ’ t talk about the fact that you are a giant man and taller than almost all of my students will ever be . Even though on the court you look like Peter Dinklage in high tops , when you are around real people you are very , very tall . Six-foot-three is nothing to laugh at , and if you did walk into my classroom , you might hit your head on the doorframe . You won the genetic lottery in addition to the monetary one , but you probably won ’ t be reminding my students that their size alone has already kept them out of competing in most American professional sports .
What you will do is shoot some threes , dazzle everyone with your dimples , high five the homies , and sign some autographs . It will be wonderful . At least , it will seem like that at first . But what you won ’ t see is the fact that most of these kids don ’ t have a backup plan for their dream of being you . If you ask the boys on my campus what they are going to be when they get older , the answer will involve a sport . They will claim they are going to play in the NBA or NFL , and seeing you there will make them think they can actually do it .
Because the worst thing you won ’ t tell them Steph , is that they can ’ t do it . You won ’ t tell them that will you ? You won ’ t be able to bring yourself to tell them it is already too late . You won ’ t tell them about all those years when you were playing in top competitive leagues as a child . You won ’ t tell them that if they haven ’ t played organized basketball by the age of sixteen ( twelve , really ), they have no chance of going pro . You see , the kids I am talking about do not play year-round , they are not in a travelling league , and they have never even heard of a McDonald ’ s All-American ; they just eat McDonald ’ s two meals a day and have Hot Cheetos in between .
Because by the time they are sixteen , boys in this country , if they have even a tiny , tiny chance of going pro , should already be on the radar of colleges and scouts . They should be the best player not just at their school but in their entire city . Probably their entire state . They should already be 6 ’ 3 ” and growing . You know this and I know this , but the kids who you will inspire with your presence will simply see you and think they too will be MVP one day , even though they don ’ t even play for our high school team . So instead of doing homework the night after your visit , they will grab their lopsided old ball and go play on the court with their little brother and shoot the ball badly , improbably thinking every time the ball actually does go in it means they are on their way to fame and fortune .
You see Steph , once you leave my school , the boys here are not going to run home and finish that essay , which is one thing they could do about their future that is in their control . Just like if Beyonce came here , the girls wouldn ’ t head back to their one bedroom apartments filled with two families and begin their science labs . When Beyonce tells them to make sure they pass Algebra , they look at her and ask “ What for ? Did Algebra help your voice ?” Instead they will go home and look in the mirror and wish they were tanner and thicker and a better singer and dancer and they will cry into their mascara . Because that is what celebrity worship does , Steph , and we need these kids to do less of it rather than more . They are already very good at dreaming about being rich and famous , what we need them to do is get a little more realistic about what is in their control . We need less of an emphasis on sports and celebrity in high school , because it is hurting these kids too much as it is .
Really the more I think about it , the crazier it sounds to write to you and tell you NOT to come to my high school . I mean , you are such an awesome guy , you are a family man with a wife and daughter , with another on the way . That video your wife made is hella funny . You are humble , a leader , and clearly our young men need to meet a man like you . Maybe I ’ m wrong to write this letter .
Or maybe not . When I tell my students they are not going to be professional athletes , they like to say , “ Won ’ t you feel stupid if one of your students does go pro ?” And my answer is always the same : “ No , because even if they do , that means I will still be 99.9 % right . Right now I am one thousand for one thousand .” Steph , you and I know they have a better chance of winning the lottery , but no one seems to tell them these things but me . Would this letter make you feel better if I told you I discourage the California Lottery from giving inspirational speeches at my high school as well ? If I wrote them a letter , would anyone think I was out of line ? Probably not .
At risk of making Dub Nation mad at me , because I know how we can get , I don ’ t want you to think it has anything to do with you personally , or the team ( I will be screaming every time you hit a three all throughout the playoffs ). It ’ s me , not you . I mean , you are the man , and I am just a teacher – no one really . The truth is , every person on earth would probably get something out of meeting you in person . For you symbolize everything people in this country value most , you are the epitome of all we hold dear , you are the pinnacle of humanity : You are good at a sport .
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