Allan Guei is a standout high school basketball player from Compton High School (Los Angeles) who won $40,000 towards college expenses in a free throw contest in March. Guei already had a full scholarship to play basketball for CSUN (Cal State University Northridge), so he decided to donate his winnings to the people who finished behind him in the contest.
The contest was created by an advertising executive and screenwriter who “wanted to make a documentary that dispelled some of the negative stereotypes associated with the city of Compton.” The contest was open to Compton seniors with a grade-point average of at least 3.0. Of the 80 who qualified, eight were chosen at random to participate.
Guei won the contest by making five free throws (a pretty low number for the star point guard on the basketball team). Rather than keep the $40,000 for himself, he shared it with the people who finished behind him in the contest. The runners-up were already set to receive $1,000 towards college, but after the gift from Guei they have an additional $5,500. You make think the whole thing was fixed, but based on NCAA rules Guei probably could have kept around 80% of the winnings.
We’ve seen some nice gestures by athletes who have donated thousands of dollars in money or gifts, but for a student to do that? That takes a whole new level of generosity.
