BY KATE ROTH

The first time I heard the touching story of Adreian Payne, star basketball player for Michigan State University, and his friendship with Lacey Holsworth, a young girl battling cancer, it was on the Big Ten Network’s show called The Journey.

All I could think of while watching the show was what a great person Adreian Payne must be and how nice it is to see an athlete in the media doing something nice and kind. This is much better than the usual headlines we see about athletes being arrested or making negative comments.

The story of Adreian and young Lacey started spreading through the media quickly and soon everyone in the country seemed to know this incredible story.

The media stayed on this story from start to finish. They followed the friendship in the offseason, regular season, NCAA tournament, and all the way up to Lacey’s unfortunate passing on April 8.

Although this was not the most joyful story to read or hear about because of Lacey’s unfortunate circumstance, it was still nice to see the media give attention to an athlete who is actually trying to do some good in the world.

Too often I turn on Sportscenter or log onto a sports blog and see stories that feature athletes making terrible, selfish decisions. That is why I commend BTN, ESPN, and all of the other sport media outlets that covered this story. They did an amazing job of showing how special some athletes really are.

I hope that other athletes have learned from Adreian and Lacey. I would love to see the media eliminate all of the negative stories and focus on more inspirational stories like this.

R.I.P. Lacey Holsworth