Conner: Did you ever feel bad about what
doctors told your parents when you were diagnosed?
Anthony: I was more angry than feeling bad
because all I could ask myself when I was told
the story was why would anyone say this about
anyone’s kid? But I’m not upset at the doctors
that told my parents all those things because
they were just doing their job. However, that
doesn’t mean that I forgive them for what they
said to my parents.
Conner: What did the bullies tell you when you
were young at school? Did you ignore them, report them or
how did you
get through
the day?
about my own thoughts and opinions in life and
NOT anyone else’s.
Conner: Why do you like to play basketball so
much?
Anthony: I love playing basketball. It is something I always had a love and passion for. When
I was a kid growing up, I got to watch guys
like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Allen
Iverson (my all-time favorite player), Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, and whenever I would
watch those guys play, I wanted to be just like
them and play basketball in front of big crowds
at some of the most famous arenas in the country. I was able to accomplish that during
my years at Michigan
State, and it’s an
experience that I’ll get
to share with my son
and grandkids one
day.
Despite bullies, adversity
and numerous personal
Anthony:
The bullies
would always
make fun of
me and tease
me because
I was always
bigger and
taller than
everyone else.
When I was
in first grade,
people bullied me because of the way I would say and do
things “different” than other people. I tried the
best I could to ignore them, but when I couldn’t,
I would just walk away and go be with my
friends who had my back. So my friends were
the ones who got me through those tough days
at school.
challenges, Anthony
worked hard and
never gave up.
Editor’s Note: At the age of 4, Anthony Ianni was diagnosed with autism. Doctors told Anthony’s parents that he would barely graduate from high school, would never graduate from
college or play team sports and most likely would live in a group institution when he was older.
But Anthony’s parents knew better and pledged to do whatever they could to give Anthony the
tools he needed so that he could be successful … no matter what. Despite bullies, adversity and
numerous personal challenges, Anthony worked hard and never gave up. Not only did he earn
his Bachelor’s Degree from Michigan State University in Sociology, but also, he is the first
known autistic athlete to have played Big 10 basketball. He won two Big Ten Championships, a
Big Ten Tournament Title, was the recipient of the 2011 Tim Bograkos Walk-On Award as well
as the 2012 Unsung Player Award, and was also a member of the 2010 Final Four team. Anthony now is a part of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and is one of the most sought after
anti-bullying motivational speakers, sharing his story with people everywhere and reminding
them to “LYD”- Live Your Dreams. We are excited to share Anthony’s exclusive ZOOM interview by Conner Cummings.
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ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
Conner: How did you manage to stay strong
when you were bullied?
Anthony: How I managed to stay strong was I
had a good support system that kept me up and
positive during the tough times. My friends and
family were the ones who taught me to worry
Conner: How many
basketball games
have you played?
How many were winning games?
Anthony: I’m not
really sure how many
games I have played,
but from my elementary school days all the way
to my time at MSU, I played in a lot of games. I
can tell you that there were a lot of games won
during those years.
Conner: Learning basketball and then playing
in crowds with announcers, cheers and maybe
even boos, was it difficult to adjust? How did
you do it?
Anthony: It wasn’t too difficult to adjust to all
of the crowd noise because I always wanted to
play in front of big crowds. I always thought
it was really cool to have your name called by
the announcer when you scored and when the
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
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