NFL star celebrates hometown champions with exclusive bash in Lake View
LAKE VIEW, S.C. (WBTW) — The Lake View High School varsity girls’ basketball team continued to celebrate their state championship win with NFL player Shaquille Leonard.
Leonard was born and raised in Lake View and says he wanted to show the team support.
The team took home its first-ever state title last month, beating Denmark-Olar 49-46 in Florence.
Leonard, a Lake View High School graduate, played college football at South Carolina State and picked in the second round of the NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
Leonard said wanted to celebrate the team’s accomplishment in a special way.
“It’s a blessing. It’s hard to win a state championship so for them to get one is pretty amazing,” he said.
Leonard was released from the Colts at the end of November and signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, but is now a free agent.
Leonard isn’t afraid of hard work and knows the girls worked just as hard to become champions.
“For me it’s just more so me being who I am and my occupation being a professional football player, is just to give them hope,” he said. “I feel like if I sat in their same seats, you know I played on the same basketball court as them and I can make it to the NFL and if they continue to work hard I think that they can go off and play college ball and professional ball, so it’s just giving them that dream.”
Close to 100 people celebrated the Lady Gators’ win at the Lakeview Community Center.
* * *
Hannah Huffstickler is a multimedia journalist at News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2024 after graduating from Coastal Carolina University in December of 2023. Keep up with Hannah on Facebook and Instagram. You can also read more of her work here.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
