A Wisconsin middle school basketball team stood by one of their cheerleaders after she was bullied by some people in the stands.
Desiree Andrews has Down syndrome and was being teased by the crowd members, but the boys left the court and confronted them.
"We walked off the court and went to the bullies and told them to stop because that's not right to be mean to another person," one of the players, Miles Rodriguez, told "Fox & Friends" on Friday.
The Lincoln Middle School student was joined in standing up for Andrews by fellow eighth-graders Chase Vasquez and Scooter Terrien.
"We were mad; we didn't like that," Rodriguez said of the bullying. "We asked our sports director to talk to the people and tell them not to make fun of her."
The boys' seventh-grade coach, Brandon Morris, confirmed the story.
"One of the kids stepped up and said, 'Don't mess with her,'" he told the Kenosha News.
Andrews said the boys' actions were "sweet, kind, awesome, [and] amazing," but the junior high students said they were just doing the right thing.
"It's not fair when other people get treated wrong because we're all the same," Terrien told TMJ4. "We're all created the same."
Coach David Tolefree said that the team includes Andrews when the starting lineup is announced at the beginning of games, they renamed the school's gym "D's House" in honor of her, and they wear t-shirts that celebrate her position within the team.
"She has been very special to us," cheerleading coach and Lincoln Middle School teacher Laura Stone confirmed.
Andrews' father, Cliff, said that his daughter was inspired to become a cheerleader after watching the television show "Glee." The character Becky Jackson, played by Lauren Potter, has Down syndrome.
