College basketball player praised for cleaning up after game
▶ Watch Video: Promoting the power of kindness
After the Wichita State University men’s basketball team won against Tarleton State on Tuesday, one player took an unusual victory lap around the stadium. Dexter Dennis stayed after the game to help staff at Koch Arena clean, Wichita CBS affiliate KWCH reports.
Dennis helped lead the Shockers to victory and into an upcoming tournament in Las Vegas. But he didn’t boast. Instead, the soft-spoken college junior from Louisiana did something very humble. Video from the court shows him picking up trash in the stands. No one asked him to do it.
The video was shared on Twitter by Taylor Eldridge, who covers Wichita State athletics for The Wichita Eagle newspaper. “Dexter is a different kind of dude,” Eldridge tweeted. The video quickly went viral.
“Wasn’t in trouble or anything. Didn’t have to. He just wanted to help out the cleaning crew,” Eldridge wrote in another tweet.
Cleanup can take up to three hours after every game, Wichita State University Facilities Director David Gomez said. The director said seeing a student athlete staying to help is inspiring.
“We have several folks who have been here for decades and I know for some of them, that’s probably the first time they’ve seen something like that happen,” said Gomez. “And I just, from our custodial staff, out to him, we just want to say thank you for leading and showing us that there are still folks out there who recognize the hard work that’s done around here.”
“It’s insane that someone who just played the game helps clean up the stadium,” Wichita State student and golfer Max Wojciechowski told KWCH.
Dennis declined KWCH’s offer for an interview and has not responded to CBS News, but did address the viral moment on Twitter. “Didn’t do it for attention,” Dennis wrote. “Just gives me perspective on life. It could always be worse.”
He played for 30 minutes during the game, hitting three of four shots from the field and also entering the top 10 all time for career three-pointers in Shocker history, KWCH reports.
