By Paul Helgren, Associate Athletic Director for Communications

 
Lavel Dumont still isn't quite sure what compelled him to do it.

The University of Toledo football player was driving to campus from his apartment last summer when he saw a boy throwing a football by himself in his front yard. He had seen him doing this before. Sometimes the boy would throw the ball as high as he could and then catch it. Sometimes he would throw at orange cones that were set up on the lawn. Sometimes he would simply throw the ball as far as he could and then retrieve it. Each time he saw this, Lavel became more intrigued. He told himself, "If I see him playing outside again, I'm going to talk to him."

What made him do it? Curiosity? Maybe. But more likely it was the guiding hand of his parents, Shanta and Lavel Dumont, Sr., their simple message resonating in his head: There are others less fortunate than yourself. Help them if you can.

So on this day, Lavel heeded the voice of his parents. He pulled his car over and introduced himself to the boy.

"Hi," he said. "I'm on the Toledo football team. It looks like you really care about football. Would you like to come to a Rocket game sometime?"

The boy, Wyntr Kinsley, 15 years old at the time, was a little incredulous. He said he would have to ask his mother. Lavel and Wyntr talked for a little while and exchanged phone numbers before Lavel returned to his car and drove to campus.

"I didn't really believe him at first," said Wyntr. "I had to look him up on the Internet after he left."

It never occurred to Lavel that a random act of kindness could be misinterpreted until he got a call from Wyntr's mother, Jennifer Lowe. At first, she was distressed to learn that her son had given his phone number to a complete stranger, but eventually came to discover that Lavel's offer was sincere. "I did my research on you," she told Lavel, "and you're not a weirdo."

Thus began an unusual but inspiring friendship between the 6-4, 300-pound offensive lineman and a young man who has been no stranger to life's challenges.

Wyntr has a heart condition that has required numerous surgeries, the first when he was just two weeks old. As a result, he has had some developmental delays. He also lacks some of the energy and endurance of a typical teenager. Because of this, Wyntr has had a hard time building friendships. But as a newcomer to the Toledo area who started school shortly before the COVID-19 shutdown last spring, making connections during online schooling has been even more difficult. So the impact of having someone like Lavel enter his life felt like a game-winning Hail Mary.

Their friendship blossomed, sometimes over socially-distanced games of catch and Madden video battles at Wyntr's house, but mostly through texts, phone calls and social media. However, Wyntr's dreams of seeing his new friend play at the Glass Bowl were put on hold when the 2020 season was postponed due to the pandemic. The season did finally get underway in early November, but unfortunately for Lavel, he suffered a season-ending leg injury in the season opener, preventing Wyntr from seeing his new friend play at the Glass Bowl. Nevertheless, Lavel and Wyntr continued to stay in touch.

Their friendship grew to the point where as Wyntr's 16^th birthday party approached, the first name on his invitation list was Lavel's. Jennifer invited Lavel, but they conspired to make his appearance a surprise. She told Wyntr that Lavel was busy and probably wouldn't come. In the meantime, assistant coach Rob Weiner connected with Jennifer and arranged to bring an additional group of Rockets to the party.

The subterfuge worked almost too well. As the date of the party approached, Wyntr stewed. He couldn't understand why Lavel wouldn't come to his party. Instead, enough Rockets showed up to make up a starting lineup.

"I just saw a bunch of big guys walk in and I didn't know why," said Wyntr. "Then I saw Lavel. I gave him a big hug and dapped him up."

Added Lavel, "His face just lit up. I think he was kind of mad at me when he thought I wasn't coming to his party. So he was pretty happy to see me."

Though shy by nature, Wyntr warmed up quickly to meeting so many Rockets, especially those from one particular position.

"Wyntr was really keen on talking to our quarterbacks," said Weiner, who coaches the QBs for Toledo. "He was really talking smack, telling them he was better than anybody there and that he should be on scholarship. Our guys loved it. The day started out good, got better, and by the end it was just awesome."

As happy as Wyntr was that day, he was equally upset when his mother gave him some recent news: a new job would require their family to move to Alabama in June.

"He was not very happy with me when I told him," said Jennifer. "So as part of the deal, I promised him we would come back to Toledo in the fall to see a Rocket game."

Even though their stay in Toledo has been brief, Jennifer said that Lavel has made their time in the Glass City memorable.

"Lavel is such a special young man to befriend a kid he doesn't even know," said Jennifer. "I haven't expressed to him enough how important his friendship has been to Wyntr. He doesn't have a lot of strong male role models in his life, but Lavel has been a wonderful mentor that will help Wyntr grow up to be an amazing young man."

For Lavel, reaching out to make connections and help others is something he has been doing for most of his life. His mother is a special education teacher in Tampa, Fla. She exposed Lavel at an early age to many of the challenges faced by the less fortunate.

"My mom usually had students with autism in her class and some of them participated in Special Olympics," said Lavel, a media communication major in his third year at UToledo. "I volunteered numerous times at Special Olympics. She would also take me to volunteer at elementary schools, pre-K schools and soup kitchens.

"My parents instilled in me to think of others before yourself. Your life might be hard sometimes, but there are others who have it much harder."

Wynter is among those who have had their fair share of challenges, but now his life is just a little brighter, thanks to a small act of kindness from a stranger who paid attention to an inner voice that told him to stop and say hello.


Previous Stories

Feb. 24 - Tycen Anderson Draws Inspiration From His Grandmother
March 3 - Thailand Native Thawin Suksathaporn has found a home in Toledo
March 10 -  Freshmen Women's Tennis Players Take Aim at Medical School
March 17 - Lexa Bauer's Passion for Justice Leads Her Toward a Law Career
March 24 - Alexia Moehling on Track to Career as a Dentist
March 31 - Lauren Wegener Takes the Fast Lane
April 8 - Jacob Harris is on Track to Becoming a Coach