McQueen rallies around football player with brain disorder

Jim Krajewski
Reno Gazette-Journal

When McQueen junior varsity football coach Jason Ehlen first met Otha Clinton, he thought the student’s last name was ‘Brother.’

Because that’s what everyone at McQueen calls Clinton.

It stems from students trying to make all their fellow classmates feel included at the school.

McQueen sophomore Otha Clinton

Clinton, 15, is not like most other students, though. He was born with microcephaly, a condition in which his brain did not not develop properly.

His mother, Becky Clinton, said Otha has the mental state of a 4-year-old.

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He can be shy and doesn't like talking to strangers too much, at first, but quickly warms up to people.

Clinton loves playing football.

He started playing youth football at age 5 and is on the McQueen junior varsity now, after playing on the freshman team last year. He mostly plays running back.

Clinton said he enjoys the camaraderie and friendship with the other players.

The other players show him where to line up and make sure he is in the right spot on the field.

“They make sure he is part of the team and the whole community,” Tim Brantner, an assistant McQueen JV coach, said. “They call him ‘Brother’ because that’s what he is.

“They’ll get him in the spot and line him up and the kid will go 100 percent. I’ve seen him break tackles. I’ve seen him catch the ball. He scored a touchdown for us. When he gets out on the field, he’s just another kid. He does all the drills for us."

McQueen student Otha Clinton.

His mother, Becky Clinton, knew Otha had microcephaly while she was pregnant. She had another older son die from the condition. She also has two daughters who attend McQueen.

"(Doctors) thought (Otha) had Down Syndrome, but it turned out to be (microcephaly) where your brain stops growing," she said. "His brain, at 6 months old, it hasn't grown since then. He shouldn't be able to walk, talk, he shouldn't be able to do anything."

She said microcephaly is similar to autism in that there is a spectrum with varying degrees of development.

He has learning disabilities and cannot read. He takes CLS (Comprehensive Life Skills)  classes at McQueen.

"He's been with these (McQueen players) for years. They're so sweet. They love him to death. He can't read the plays, so they teach it to him. They move him around on the field," Becky Clinton said.

She said when they move him around, he quickly figures out what is going on, what he should do and where he should go.

Clinton suffered a broken arm in a game two weeks ago, something Brantner takes the blame for. He put Clinton in on defense at linebacker and a player on the opposing team leveled Clinton, causing a high arm break.

Clinton hopes to return to the field this season, although Ehlen said that might not be possible.

But Clinton is out at every practice, helping however he can.

His coaches say his teammates are proud to include Clinton in any way they can.

McQueen's Henry Anderson(13), Kirat Dhillon (68) and Jd Kolb(3) lead the Lancers onto the field before thier game agianst Del Campo at McQueen High School on Aug. 31, 2018.

"If he's not back this year, he'll be out at every practice, helping us out every day and then next year, he'll be suited right back up for us," Ehlen said.

When he scored a touchdown last season against Reno, the Huskies were in on it and let him have a clear path to the end zone. His cousin plays for the Huskies.

"When he re-tells it, he has no idea the other team was in on it," Becky Clinton said. "All the kids moved out of the way so he could run right down the middle. He thinks he juked them all the way. He is so proud of it. He has no idea it was completely planned. He's just a sweetheart."

She said Otha Clinton is athletic and also loves swimming and running.

Becky said his life after high school is up in the air and she hopes to find a place that hires and helps people with disabilities.

She and her husband, Otha Clinton Sr., put Otha Jr. on athletic teams and everywhere she could at a young age so he would be accustomed to social situations.

"We didn't want him to be the kid who didn't get to do stuff, so we've always had him in sports," she said. "When we were trying to figure out a sport for him, his neurologist said, 'Football won't hurt him any worse than he already is, so go ahead and let him play football.'"

Otha Clinton plays on the McQueen JV football team