Michigan's Austin Hatch Continues His Resilient Journey Off The Floor

The story of Austin Hatch is heartbreaking, eye-watering and yet inspiring.

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Hatch lost his mother and two siblings in 2003 when a plane his father was piloting ran out of fuel and crashed on a forced landing. Eight years later and not quite a month after committing to play basketball for the Michigan Wolverines, Hatch was in another plane crash, an accident that took the life of his father and stepmother.

After the news came to light in June 2011, Michigan did not rescind their offer.

On Monday the Detroit Free Press announced that Hatch will take a medical redshirt, end his career as a Michigan basketball player and retain a full-scholarship that will pay for Hatch’s education over the next three years. The NCAA approved this move and for just one shining morning, didn’t appear to be the callous bureaucracy many make them out to be.

Story on Austin Hatch ending his basketball career: http://t.co/fCcGsfYPMp #Michigan

— Freep Sports (@freepsports) April 27, 2015

This is a great story embedded within the familiar fabric of our bleak news cycle. For those of us who’ve faced adversity, we haven’t seen half of what Hatch has been through. For those of us engaged in tough times, we now pray to be half as resilient as Hatch.

Jerry Landry is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow Jerry on Twitter at @Jerry2Landry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him on Google.