Kyle Cosgrove, a 17-year-old Brainerd High School student, knows everything about the NBA, especially Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant. Kyle, who is on the autism spectrum, plays basketball every night at the YMCA, where he met his friend Nate Johnson.
Knowing this is Bryant’s last season with the Lakers, Johnson wanted to find a way to get Kyle to a Lakers game to see his hero in action. He got the NBA team to donate four tickets to Kyle, his mother and his twin sisters for the game against the Boston Celtics April 3, which happens to be the day after World Autism Day, said Johnson.
“It would be very special for Kyle to get to experience an NBA game,” Johnson said, adding that he’s continually amazed by the sort of mind Kyle has. “He’s just a really sweet kid, and he deserves to experience something like this.”
Since Kyle’s family lacks the funds to travel to the game, Johnson set up a fundraising page on generosity.com to help cover the expense. The site requires that the funds be collected through a nonprofit organization, so Johnson contacted Dave Buck at the Chattanooga Autism Center, who was happy to help.
To cover the cost of plane tickets, food and transportation in LA and a hotel room, the family would need about $4,100, said Johnson. At the time this article was written, $450 had been raised. There’s not much time left, but he said the page will be active right up until the day of the game.
Johnson would love for Kyle to have a chance meet Bryant if he is able to get to the game, and he is asking that people send a tweet to @kobebryant to tell him about Kyle.
To learn more or to make a donation, visit generosity.com and search for “Kyle Cosgrove.”