Story #1

 I’m a 19-year-old college communications student who wants to be a sports journalist.

At the start of the new year, I joined my school's newspaper, and by late January I was really getting my kicks taking basketball photographs. On Jan. 30, I found myself stuck on I-5 for 13 hours as I traveled up to Seattle from Albany, Oregon and back to take photos. 

What took me on this journey? The number-one-ranked high school basketball recruit Tyran Stokes, who has now concluded his time playing with Rainier Beach, a public high school in Seattle known for producing elite prospects.

Stokes, a 6-foot-9 versatile forward still not committed to a college, was a rarity for number-one players — he played his senior year at a public school, whereas the vast majority of top-ranked basketball players play at private schools. 

The way I saw it, getting pictures of a future NBA player would be a massive boost to my portfolio. Getting pictures of the best players I could get access to was challenge enough to me.

I selected an away game and figured it would be simple; just show up early and talk your way in. It’s just a public high school basketball game, after all.

As soon as I parked at Roosevelt High School in Seattle and saw two options: MEDIA ENTRANCE, HAVE  ID READY and GENERAL ADMISSION: SOLD OUT, MUST HAVE TICKET. I started to second guess how meticulous my plan really was.

I walked through the general public door and figured I’d lay it on strong.

With the first guy with a badge I spotted I rambled on quickly about how I was a student journalist who came from distant lands and asked to speak to the athletic director.

He was the athletic director.

“Where do you go to school?” 

I explained that I go to Linn-Benton Community College, a school in close proximity to Oregon State.

After jeering at me that I should consider a school “like U-Dub,” I was swiftly ushered into the gym, getting a run-down of the rules, and I was given one of 20 or so press passes.

Marvelous.

I was the only photographer there for the freshman game, but I figured I’d get some pictures as I waited for the gym to fill up and for the number-one player in the nation to take the court. 

My mind raced as I thought of what a fortunate situation I suddenly found myself in. There was an ESPN booth on the far corner of the court from me.

The first half of the freshman game came and went, and at halftime, something felt off.

Quickly, word spread around the gym that the game wouldn’t be finished.

Then word spread that all the games were canceled.

Finally, the athletic director went before the small supporter section and announced why the games were canceled.

Quickly my devastation about the situation changed forms.

Tragedy had struck the Rainier Beach community; two students had been shot and killed just blocks from the high school.

The announcement sucked all energy out of the air. 

At that moment I didn’t quite grasp the news I was hearing. Discourse about gun-violence in our nation is always floating around, but being one step away from an incident like this gives you a new perspective.

No athletic director should be standing up in front of teams and fans in a basketball gym to announce news like this. 

The case remains under investigation, according to the Seattle Police Department, and the alleged shooter is in custody. However, the motives of the teenage suspect remain unknown.

The attack seemingly targeted the two students who were killed. KOMO News reported the boys were best friends that were always together.

I was only there as a fly on the wall, in a room miles from the incident. But the damage done to this community, and thousands of others on a regular basis, is completely incomprehensible. 

I left the gym pretty quickly and gathered my thoughts in my car. I hadn’t reserved a hotel room. Should I attend another game? I didn’t want to drive home, thinking about the situation.

Later that week, I found myself at an odd intersection of simply doing the job I enjoy and a harsh reality. 

I’m fortunate to have been born in an environment where gun violence front of mind. I suspect most of the people that downplay the issue have backgrounds similar to mine. 

I wonder whether somebody that doesn’t think our nation has a gun problem found themselves in that gym that afternoon. And I wonder if hearing that school administrator announce a shooting of students changed their mind. 

I never went back to Seattle to try and get pictures of Stokes. Rainier Beach went on to win the Washington 3A State Championship.

This was a day with a lot of twists and turns, the biggest being one that had nothing to do with me. And everything to do with how I think moving forward.