Long Island Special Olympics bowler: I’ll take on Obama
Posted by: Baller-in-Chief in Articles(From Dave Marcus for New York Newsday Online)
Daniel Fletcher, 21, of Brentwood holds his 15-pound bowling ball. Fletcher was born with down syndrome and is a Special Olympian in many sports. (Newsday / Ana P. Gutierrez / March 20, 2009)
Special Olympics bowlers look forward to meeting President Barack Obama in an alley.
“I am willing to get a team to challenge him,” said Daniel Fletcher, 21, of Brentwood. “I’d challenge him myself.”
And Michigan’s Kolan McConiughey told The Associated Press: “He bowled a 129. I bowl a 300. I could beat that score easily.”
Obama apologized for his remark on “The Tonight Show” and said he wants to have some Special Olympics athletes visit the White House to bowl or play basketball. McConiughey, 35, who is mentally disabled, has bowled five perfect games since 2005 and has been bowling since he was 8 or 9. His advice for Obama? Practice every day.
Fletcher, who has Down syndrome, bowls three times a week and recently scored 130 - a point higher than Obama’s score.”He’s a super athlete,” said his father, Warren, a teaching assistant.
Daniel’s mother, Edna, a social worker, said Obama’s gaffe was “really just a slip of the tongue.”
“A little off-key, but he really didn’t mean anything negative,” Warren said. No argument from Daniel, who cast his first presidential vote last year - for Obama.
Related posts:
Loading ...
