Roxanne McKinney

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Tough loss today, no video, no pictures and no touchdown for our boy. 💔 Emoni’s team fought hard through DOUBLE OT, only to lose by yardage. We’ve explained to Emoni many times that there will be games he may not get to play, but he still chooses to show up and be part of his team. Today, as they walked off the field, I saw the tears in his eyes. After the coach’s speech, he hugged his mom and cried even harder. Then he came to me and Papa and said, “I’m sad because my team lost.” 😢 That’s Emoni—when his team hurts, he hurts. He has such a big heart, and it’s okay to feel those emotions. 💙 Something told me this morning to make sure he felt like a winner today before his game, so we stopped at Dick’s to pick up his mouthpiece and he picked up a putter. ⛳️ Maybe golf is next! 😂 Win or lose, he’ll always be our winner. ❤️🏈 #AutismProud #BigHeart #dicks_sportinggoods #TeamPlayer #AlwaysOurWinner

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Today was a tough game day for Emoni. 💙🏈 Somewhere along the way he lost his mouthpiece, and something that may seem small to us completely threw him off. One thing people don’t always understand about autism is that unexpected change can be HARD. We immediately noticed Emoni isolate himself from his team and chose the bench as his comfort place. Papa went over and had a little talk with him ❤️ and even with all the emotions he was feeling, his coaches and teammates made sure he still participated! Today reminded us that for Emoni, football is about so much more than playing time or touchdowns. It’s about learning to work through the hard moments and knowing he still belongs. 💙♾️🏈 #AutismPride #cfpo #AutismAcceptance #DifferentNotLess #EmonisJourney

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Volume up 📣 my daughter sent me this video of Emoni’s game today and OMG to see my grandson be able to be apart of a football team and organization who welcomed him with open arms and hearts despite him seeing the world a different way, makes my heart so happy! Last week I posted and begged anyone who may have taken a video of Emoni scoring a touchdown in the first football game for CFPO New Braunfels Toros but no one captured it 🥹 We weren’t sure if he’d get another chance because quite frankly football games in Texas are taken quite serious BUT once again his Coaches, teammates and the Opposite Team made this happen for Emoni today! To hear his Coach and both teams cheer him on is a feeling like no other. Thank you New Braunfels Toros and CFPO for including Emoni #51 on the field as a player with hopes and dreams for people to love and support people who are autistic 🧩 #cfpotoros #texasfootball #AustismAcceptance #FootballSeason