After being separated from his mother and his two brothers at eight years old, Brian Morton, senior guard and recreation major, was reunited with his brothers when he transferred to ESU to play basketball.
Morton was separated from his family after an incident involving a man and his mother. At the time of the incident, he was visiting his father in Lansing, Michigan, Morton said.
“A man put his hands on my mom, my mom grabbed her gun, so the police got involved and things of that sort,” Morton said. “They ended up taking my brothers and sisters away.”
He moved to Lansing to live with his father, while his brothers went into the foster care system in Hutchinson, Kansas.
“I went from growing up with them, seeing them every day, to seeing them once every couple years,” Morton said.
He was able to visit them twice before he reunited with them at ESU, with his father when he was 12 and again when he was 19, Morton said.
“During high school, we kept in contact through Facebook, social media, things like that,” Morton said.
However, it wasn’t until Morton was recruited from community college in Lansing, where he played basketball, and transferred to ESU that he was able to build a strong relationship with his brothers.
Although one of his greatest accomplishments was earning a scholarship that allowed him to get an education, the best part was the chance to meet his two brothers, Morton said.
When Morton arrived at ESU, his brothers, Deshawn Dinwiddie and Deveon Dinwiddie, were playing football at Emporia State after transferring from North Dakota State University, according to esuhornets.com.
They played football for ESU in 2014, according to Don Weast, associate athletic director.
“My brother Deshawn was still attending ESU, I think he was running track and field and Devon lived in Emporia, so I was able to see both of them,” Morton said. “That was the first time I’d seen them since I was little so it was crazy.”
Morton and his brothers have continued their strong bonds as the three now see each other on a consistent basis and all live in the same state.
“We’re all close now, we’re all in Kansas again,” Morton said. “I see them often.”
However, his brothers weren’t the only family that Morton gained during his time at ESU.
Morton is also a father to a seven month old named Joy. She is very important to him, Morton said.
“It’s an everyday challenge being a father, the amount of work that goes in is like having three jobs,” Morton said.
She’s very curious, according to Morton.
“She’s always roaming around,” Morton said. “She just started crawling around so she’s always getting into stuff and she eats anything.”
Morton says that he is going to encourage Joy to play basketball when she gets older.
He sees the importance in it, how it taught him values such as dedication and teamwork that he will bring into his career and has brought into his decision making in general.
