We are perhaps too used to the classic story of the American athlete who as a child lived on the street and as an adult becomes a superstar of his sport.

But it is that the film does not stop becoming reality. And again. In the NBA, in the NFL, in soccer ... In all leagues. . And therein lies, too, the beauty of sport.

This week we uncovered the story of Javon Kinlaw , a defender from the University of South Carolina who is called to be one of the first picks in the upcoming NFL draft , which takes place on April 23.

Kinlaw, like many athletes from all sports, from all over the world, like millions of workers in their fields, has had to overcome obstacles and adversities in his life until he had the possibility of playing in one of the best competitions in the world.

In his case, we talk about bullying, homelessness, abuse, violence ...

In an extensive report on ESPN , the young athlete explains, now that he is going to sign the contract of his life , how his childhood was growing up in Washington, where he moved from house to house with his mother, some without water, others without electricity...

"Now I know I am going to get money. I have been bad, very bad, I have hit rock bottom. I have been where nobody should be. I lived in basements and right now no matter what the amount of that contract is, I will be grateful , for what least I'll get a place to live, "he admits.

At age 8, the house in which he lived with his mother and brother collapsed. They moved to another where they used their neighbor's hose to fill cans of water for theirs. During the year, he survived on the clothes he received when the school year began . It rotated between a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and some T-shirts. "I don't think it was that bad, for me it was what it was. I didn't care. I was used to it. Someone else may say it's horrible, but for me it wasn't that bad, " he explains.

As he grew older, his problems grew with him. He was missing school to get on the subway and at least be in a hot place. To escape difficulties, she moved with her father to South Carolina . And the thing was not better. His school coaches admit that the boy's father was an alcoholic , that he became violent with him and that the girlfriend did not want to see him nearby. He ended up moving into the home of a teammate.

In high school they bullied him for his weight and clothes. " You are not going to graduate, you will probably be dead, " he admits they were telling him.

He started playing football because it was a way to get away from reality, and at first " it was not good ", but its large size earned him the benefit of the doubt of several coaches and, later, of several universities. The South Carolina woman offered him a scholarship, something Kinlaw didn't even know what it was. " I didn't know what they were talking about ."

In college, more trouble: " Coming from where I come from, you can't trust anyone. If you end up trusting the wrong person, you end up dead, " he says, remembering how many schools he had been to. "Four elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools."

He then moved to Jones College, a university in Mississippi, and things changed. " Was all this food free? I started to go crazy, " he admits, having refused to eat in the first two days of college thinking he had to pay for lunch.

The following year he returned to South Carolina as another man. He weighed 138 kilos , he needed to lose weight and he started training really : "That's when I started falling in love with American football."

12 months ago he was a father, all the more reason to maintain a good lifestyle: "I want to be the father I never had. It's the reason why I put my soul into this. I don't want him to worry about things that he shouldn't worry about. a girl . "

Now, according to the latest draft predictions, Javon Kinlaw will be chosen at number 13 in the next draft by the San Francisco 49ers , current National Conference champions, who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the last Superbowl. They are characterized by having one of the best defenses in the championship, so choosing one of the best young defenders in the country does not sound bad.

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