Vulcans’ Bassham has triumphed through tragedy
A college athletic team can be inspired by the play of a teammate, a special achievement or a great victory.
The PennWest California football team has been uplifted by all of that.
But it is a special 22-year-old teammate who inspires the Vulcans this Thanksgiving Day.
While his play at center is exemplary it is his character, persona, spirit and caring for others that motivates those around him. They see and feel his joy and hope.
Bassham, an exercise science major, is a central part of the Vulcans’ outstanding season that continues at 1 p.m. Saturday in a NCAA Division II second-round game at California’s Adamson Stadium against Ashland University. The winner will advance to the national quarterfinals.
In the fall of 2023, Bassham, from Erie, received a phone call no one wants to take.
The voice on the other end informed him that his mother, Autumn, was the victim of domestic violence and had died.
“Getting that call about my mom, it left a hole in my chest,” Bassham said. “I was heartbroken. I was away chasing my dream here. And something so bad and hurtful happened at home.”
The news was devastating.
“Jaheim found out about his mother in my office,” Vulcans coach Gary Dunn said. “I put my arms around him. The program, the staff, the university and his teammates put their arms around him.”
Amazingly, Bassham decided to play that week’s game.
“He took care of his family and he made sure those he loved were OK,” Dunn said. “He got through what he needed to and came to me and said he wanted to play.
“I could have never played under those circumstances. But he is strong and he is committed to his teammates and our program.”
Bassham reassured them that his mother would have wanted him to do so.
His father, who resides in Erie, takes care of his younger brother Michael, a special needs child.
“My father supports me and my brother,” Bassham said. “He’s helped me to move forward and not dwell in the past.”
Bassham’s selflessness and character were on display again during this past offseason when he participated in the Cal football program’s yearly bone marrow drive.
That eventually led to Bassham traveling to Chicago’s Hope City Hospital to donate bone marrow to an “elderly man.”
While Bassham hasn’t met the man, he saved his life.
“I was hooked up two-to-three hours and in the hospital for five or six days,” he said. “It was all positive vibes. Helping to heal someone else helped my own healing process.”
Nashawn Jackson, a senior and offensive linemate and friend of Bassham, said he and his former roommate were youth league football teammates. While both are from Erie, Jackson attended Erie McDowell High School and Bassham went to Erie Cathedral Prep.
“We bumped heads a few times in high school,” Jackson said. “He’s very intelligent, and when he got here to Cal, he wasn’t a typical freshman. The more time went on, the more he played and the more respect he gained from his teammates. He became a team leader.
“He’s a well-rounded football player. But it’s more than this. Jaheim is built for this. He holds himself to a high standard in football and in life.”
Bassham is a first-team All-Pennsylvania West Division center. Dunn said Bassham is one of few four-year starters under him at California.
Bassham strives to play professional ball. He has been so influenced and educated by Vulcans’ offensive line coach Bob McClain that he will consider coaching as well.
McClain said Bassham is smart, tough and adaptable enough to do well at whatever he decides.
“He’s the whole package,” said McClain, a well-traveled assistant coach with a track record of producing strong offensive lines and developing high-level players. “Jaheim is an intelligent, tough kid who plays with a hard edge and is fundamentally sound. He is a phenomenal human being.
“Going through everything he has, he always does right by his family. He loves football. Obviously, he went through a horrible tragedy that was very hard on him. He’s a caring person. To watch him manage it and keep himself …
“My father recently passed away. Jaheim made a point to text me numerous times. When I saw him, he came to me and hugged me and said: ‘Coach, I love you and want to be here for you the way you were here for me.’ I was impressed that a kid his age would think that way.”
Bassham said he’ll eat Thanksgiving dinner at Dunn’s home or with a friend.
While he’s been through many feelings, ups and downs – on and off the field — for more than a year, today is a blessing for Bassham.
“Just because you’re going through a bad time, it doesn’t mean you have a bad life,” Bassham said.
Jaheim Bassham has a good life and he helps others have better lives.
For that, all can be thankful.