Special Olympian honored with letterman jacket at Pleasanton high school

PLEASANTON, Calif. (KGO) -- It's a tradition that high school athletes who excel at sports get a varsity letter. Now, that honor is being extended to a Special Olympian at Pleasanton's Foothill High School and that young man is wearing it proudly.

Andrew Brumm is an accomplished athlete, but not in the traditional sense. He's now also a letterman, which sends a strong message about inclusion. "I feel that it's meant to be on me," Brumm said.

Brumm told ABC7 News he feels a sense of pride every time he looks at the letterman jacket he received for sports at Foothill High School. "It felt really good. I felt like I was going to be more special than I already was," he said.

Brumm has been competing as a Special Olympian in basketball and bowling since he was 12 years old.

But at Foothill High School and most high schools, varsity letters were given only to those students who achieved certain standards in their respective sports at school. "And just one day I was driving in my car and I just thought, 'gosh why can't he have one?"' Janeen Rubio Brumm said.

And that's when his mother Janeen decided to make a suggestion to Foothill High School Principal Jason Krolikowski. "I was thinking about senior pictures and how families take pictures of their seniors with their letterman jacket," she said.

"In this case, you know we have a young man who's committed, who plays the whole season and is deserving to represent Foothill athletes everywhere," Krolikowski said.

"He's so proud. Yes, he loves it. He wants to wear it all the time, even if it's 95 degrees out," Janeen said.

"It makes me feel happy to start this for all Special Olympians and all different cases," Brumm said.

Other schools in the area now plan to follow Foothill High School's lead and award letters to their students who have made their mark in the Special Olympics.