Goodman: Ben Abercrombie set to graduate from Harvard

This is an opinion column.

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The most extraordinary people among us all have one thing in common. They make everyone around them better people.

As a sports reporter, I’ve covered and analyzed that phenomenon firsthand with guys like LeBron James, Tim Tebow and Nick Saban. They all share the same trait, and it’s something more than inspiration or leadership.

On their own, those luminaries are singularly great, Hall of Famers and among the most accomplished individuals of their crafts. But that’s not what makes them truly exceptional. The innate ability to make the people in your orbit remarkable, too, is a gift.

Like LeBron, Tebow and Saban, my friend Ben Abercrombie has that superpower.

That Abercrombie can affect people in such a positive way while being paralyzed from the neck down puts him in a class all his own.

Eight years ago, Abercrombie suffered a catastrophic injury to a pair of vertebrae in his neck. He was making a routine tackle in his first football game for Harvard University. That was back in 2017 and he could have died on the field. A native of Hoover, Abercrombie had just begun his freshman year at the most prestigious university in the world.

In a blink, it was all over. Or so everyone thought.

But not Ben Abercrombie.

Ben’s journey would be different, but the person his teammates had already nicknamed the Badger wasn’t about to quit anything without a fight.

If there was even the slightest possibility that Ben could finish school, then he was going to do it.

Earlier this week, and eight years after his injury, Ben completed his final exam as a student at Harvard. He graduates later this month.

The Badger will soon be one of the most impressive and inspirational alums of the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.

Paralysis couldn’t stop him. The COVID-19 pandemic failed to deter him. Harvard and Hoover should commemorate Ben’s No.32 jersey. From now on, those who wear that number should only be the best of the best.

I’ve had the wonderful privilege of getting to know Ben over the past five years. Ben is “The Hero” in my weekly college-football feature “Joe vs. the Pro and Hero.” We pick the winners of six games per week. It’s a silly game, but that’s what everyone loves about it. In recent years, readers have joined the fun, too.

People love picking games with the Hero. “Joe vs. the Pro and Hero” gets bigger every season. Each week, we have hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of entries. Ben sends me the write-ups for his picks on Wednesday nights. Smart guy, Ben. He never picks against Alabama.

A lot of people don’t understand what it takes for Ben to simply compose a sentence or send an email. He uses assistive technology adapted to his eyesight to write.

His final exam at Harvard took him six hours. All of his tests took hours and hours. But the Badger never quits.

“Fight like a Badger,” is what they say at Harvard in honor of Ben. It’s now a part of the football team’s many traditions. Ben doesn’t fight for himself, though. That’s the truth of it. That’s what sets him apart and makes him special. Ben fights for everyone else.

He fights for his family.

He fights for his friends.

He fights for Harvard and he fights for the country.

Ben is graduating with a degree in finance. His plan is to be a financial adviser for athletes. All Ben does, and all he wants to do, is make people better every day of his life.

It’s a gift.

I visited Ben on campus last year for Harvard’s annual football game against rival Yale. His parents live with him at Winthrop House. All the Kennedys lived at Winthrop while in school. Lots of history there. Lots of ivy. It’s the kind of place where you can almost feel the energy transform your spirit.

Ben’s parents take care of him around the clock. It’s more than a full-time job. Harvard alums have raised money for the family. Each year, the former players throw a fundraiser for Ben before the Harvard-Yale game. It takes a remarkable amount of teamwork for someone paralyzed from the neck down to graduate from Harvard.

So many kind and loving souls have helped Ben since his injury, but the people around Ben — his parents, his former coaches, his friends — all say the same thing. They’re the lucky ones for getting to be around the Badger.

Ben’s positivity is infectious. His light is a beacon. We’re all better thanks to Ben.

Share his joy. Celebrate his story. Be renewed by his endurance and his love for life.

For this column, I wanted to ask Ben one question upon completion of his final exam. What’s the most important thing he learned while attending the most prestigious university in the world? Here’s what he said:

“The most important thing I learned during my time at Harvard was not related to academics or finance, but rather how much the people within the Harvard community care for each other.

“Regardless of whether someone graduated in 1953 or 2025, members of the Harvard community treat one another like family regardless of the situation or condition you’re in. They go out of their way to help one another, and despite being told about this early after my injury, I was still surprised by how strong and genuine this sense of family within the Harvard community really is.”

How do you make the people around you better? There is no greater gift.

Help others to help themselves.

Love for the sake of love.

Learn from those you teach.

Fight like Ben Abercrombie.

BE HEARD

Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”