To the Least of These

MATT SCHUMAN was a reporter for many years with the Greeley (Colo.) Daily Tribune. Matt was hired in the mid 1980s after he completed his degree in journalism at the University of Northern Colorado. His editor was Kevin Bronson, and his colleagues in his early years on the sports staff there were Dennis Taylor and Sam Mustari.

I thought of Matt recently after reading about University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders, who last fall paused mid-sentence at a press conference to recognize a young reporter named Andrew Cherico. Sanders, as many people know, has a recurring health issue that has resulted in amputation of his toes. Sanders was very empathetic for the young reporter, who has a disability. More on that in a moment.

Another reporter named Serge Kovaleski was mocked instead of credited by a powerful man a few years ago, but for now I want to talk about Matt, his colleagues, Coach Sanders and Andrew Cherico.

Matt was born with Muscular Dystrophy (MD). The Mayo Clinic describes MD as “a group of diseases that causes muscles to become weaker and lose mass over time. The condition is caused by changes in the genes that make proteins needed to form healthy muscles.” As the picture above shows, Matt’s mobility was restricted and he needed a motorized chair to help him get around. But that didn’t stop him from covering the Broncos summer training camp, University of Northern Colorado athletics, and anything else that needed done around the sports desk of a small daily newspaper back in the 1980s.

It was decency and an eye for talent that led the sports staff at Greeley to hire Matt. Fresh out of university, his portfolio of clips might have been limited, but he was highly regarded as a hard worker determined to realize his dream of being a sports reporter. Yes, he needed a little help getting his winter coat off and on, and his work space was arranged to accommodate his needs. More importantly, as the photo above shows, Matt had plenty of access to the Broncos players, and he came back with good information and wrote informative stories.

Tad Boyle was the basketball coach at the University of Northern Colorado during Matt’s tenure. He’s now a colleague of Coach Prime at CU. When Matt died at the age of 49 in 2020, Coach Boyle had this to say:

Recently, New York Times reporter Brad Feldman wrote about Coach Sanders calling on a nervous Andrew Cherico at a press conference after a CU game in Florida last fall. 2 Sanders began answering the reporter’s question then stopped and said:

By contrast — astonishing contrast — there is a person named Donald Trump who evidently has a much different understanding of a person with a disability. Serge Kovaleski, working as a journalist in New York, has a congenital condition called arthrogryposis that affects his joints. On Sept. 17, 2001, Kovaleski co-authored a story for the Washington Post about FBI investigations under way in New Jersey. Fourteen years later at a campaign rally, Trump mocked the reporter. You can read Kovaleski’s original report here. For perspective, the events were fact-checked by Snopes in 2016 and you can read them here. Why Trump even brought up the years-old story is a mystery to me. But this is how the man who is in his second term as President of the United States spoke about the reporter:

I did not get over that, and I never will. I wish everyone would remember.

A relative of mine also worked from a wheelchair. After his disabling injury he returned to university and got his PhD from the University of Colorado. He was brilliant, hard working, persistent, and courageous. As a professor, he was very successful. Like Matt, Andrew and Serge, he deserved commendation, not mockery.

In the context of that time in 2015, some religious zealots dismissed Trump’s unacceptable behaviors as an example of how the Lord works in “mysterious ways” to accomplish his will. While this saying isn’t found in the Bible, some seized it as justification to support a man with no apparent moral compass. 4

What those attracted to Trump for religious reasons in 2015 might have referenced in the Bible, and now for that matter, is a person of historical and religious significance who saw virtue in humility, and righteousness in helping others:

One might assert that Trump’s disgusting behaviors are best forgotten. Get over it? No; it’s not best forgotten. Moral guard rails, called social mores, check unacceptable behavior. Deviancy should not go uncorrected, and aberrant, indecent behavior should neither be forgotten nor overlooked. Forgiveness as a response to contrition is a good idea, but who has witnessed any contrition from people who can’t be wrong, ever?

Has anything changed? Sadly, we see so many examples of cruelty these days that one has to wonder. 6 The man who thought it would be all right to mock a person with a disability was elected president in 2016 and again in 2024. He continues to lie, insult, deflect, and refuse accountability. Even now, as he is linked to a horrible pedophile former friend, he responds by attacking others. We will see about that, but, remember Serge Kovaleski was correct in his report and Trump was wrong with his facts and immoral with his attempts to avoid accountability.

For now, it helps to take a deep breath and remember and appreciate the many very decent people around us.

Congratulations to Matt, Andrew, Serge, Coaches Boyle and Sanders, and my colleagues from years ago at the small daily in Colorado where decent people helped each other out.