The nominees, Jesse Cooper, Drew Gibbs and Zeke Grissom, made a pact that whoever won the crown would give it to their classmate Scotty Maloney, a classmate with special needs. Maloney has Williams Syndrome, "a neurological disorder that inhibits learning and speech," according to a report from ABC's Good Morning America.
"He's always happy, so he deserves some recognition for who he is," Gibbs told local ABC affiliate WKRN.
Maloney's teacher, Liz Hestle Gassaway, described him as a beloved member of the school and the community. "Scotty is fabulous. He is a superstar. He knows everybody," she told WKRN. "To know him and meet him is to love him."
Jesse Cooper won the student vote for homecoming king, but at the ceremony, the prinicipal announced that the three nominees had made a change of plans, and wanted to bestow the honor on Maloney instead.
"When they called [Scotty's] name, his eyes got really big and I don't know that he registered exactly what was happening. He knew something was," Gassaway told ABC News. "It was very, very emotional."
Gassaway said her school is exceptional when it comes to dealing with special needs children. She said that students often volunteer to help out in special needs classes, and that the "boys' gesture toward Maloney sent a greater message."
"We want people to have more empathy towards people, not be scared of people with disabilities," she told ABC. "We want them to embrace them, more like the boys did."
She added that Maloney has been proudly wearing his medal around everywhere he goes.
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