The students of Archbishop Molloy have been hit hard by the news of junior soccer player Justin Thompson’s paralysis after being shot in the back leaving a party Friday night in Cambria Heights. Hundreds have flocked to his Facebook page to show their support and there are plans to further show solidarity that have yet to be finalized.
“The kids have talked about doing a number of things for Justin,” Molloy athletic director Mike McCleary said. “It’s just a matter of figuring out what the best thing is to do.”
McCleary said multiple alumni from the elite academic school have contacted him asking if there is any way they could help after reading about Thompson’s condition in The Post. The National Spinal Cord Injury Association also reached out, McCleary said, and its contact information was passed on to Thompson’s parents.
Thompson’s soccer teammates wore Jamaican flag armbands Thursday during the school day to show their support. The Stanners will also be wearing them on the field Saturday when they meet Holy Cross in the CHSAA Class AA quarterfinals 2:30 p.m. at SUNY Maritime.
Thompson, who is of Jamaican descent, and his fellow players have a running joke that the country never makes the World Cup, so when coach Andy Kostel asked Thompson what his team can do for him during the game, he mentioned the bands.
“They all started laughing,” Kostel said. “They said, ‘Yeah, that’s definitely what Justin wants us to do.’”
Kostel didn’t make any players available to the media Thursday. Thompson’s state is too fluid, changing by the moment, the coach said. Thompson, who also plays basketball at Molloy, did get good news Tuesday when surgery to remove the bullet showed that the spine was only bruised, not pierced, according to what he wrote on his Facebook page. He still doesn’t have movement in his legs, but Kostel said doctors were very happy and hopeful after the surgery.
Tyler Bennett, Thompson’s close friend and basketball teammate, said the mood around Molloy was sullen this week, but now optimistic because of the operation.
“He should be entering rehab soon, so that’s a plus,” said Bennett, who has visited Thompson at Long Island Jewish Hospital.
Thompson’s friends miss him dearly and are hoping for a speedy recovery. McCleary, also an assistant basketball coach, described him as “top-notch kid.” He’s an ‘A’ student and “I don’t think he has an enemy in the whole world,” McCleary said. Molloy girls soccer star Casey Collins said Wednesday that her team was “playing for Justin Thompson” in its eventual loss to Holy Trinity in the CHSAA Nassau/Suffolk ‘A’ playoffs.
“He’s a sweet boy,” said Amani Tatum, a close friend and star on the school’s girls basketball team. “He’s hilarious, out of this word. He’s just really great to be around.”
Tatum said Thompson and his group of friends started a rap club at Molloy called Firemoney. Thompson enjoys rapping and cracking jokes. Kostel said he is also extremely respectful, never missed a practice and always did what was asked of him on the field. When the coach moved him from forward to defense this year, Thompson never objected. And he was about to break out and become a star, too, Kostel said.
“I thought his spring was outstanding,” the coach said. “He has great athleticism. He gets to every header in the area. He’s so fast he can make up for any mistakes. It was just recently that he was starting to get back to where he was in the spring.”
Thompson and a group of friends were leaving a party Friday night around 10 p.m. when a group of thugs approached them trying to pick a fight, police said. Thompson and his friends turned around to leave and someone in the other group fired one shot, hitting Thompson in the back.
Kostel, whose son Denes plays with Thompson at Molloy and with the Little Neck Soccer Club, said he found out Saturday morning and told his players what happened before a non-league game with St. Anthony’s that day. At that point, there was more of a sense of relief.
“All I told them was Justin was alive and stable,” Kostel said. “They were happy he was alive. Denes called my wife and was crying because he thought he was dead.”