Westfield History Teacher's Hoop Shot Goes Viral On ESPN Page

WESTFIELD, NJ — Who knew that a social studies teacher would achieve viral fame by making a basketball shot in her classroom — and it didn't even involve tossing an F paper on Manifest Destiny into a garbage can.

As Westfield High School freshman Michael Siroty wrote in a published article on Friday, teacher Kim Leegan drew millions of views on Youtube on Feb. 21 after she was filmed by a student tossing a basketball across her classroom into a mini-hoop.

The students went wild afterward — largely because the successful shot meant that they'd get an A on a future history exam as a reward.

Here's the story: According to Siroty's account, social studies teacher Anthony Farag, who shares a classroom with Leegan, told her if she made the basket, the class would get an A on their next test about Ancient Greece.

Wait, was basketball an Olympic sport? Not quite (not until the 20th Century, anyway). But Leegan made the shot across the room.

After WHS senior Tim Alliegro posted the video to a social media page for ESPN SportsCenter, the news site posted it to SportsCenter's Twitter and Instagram.

On Instagram, one reader responded, "Teacher of the year."

As of Monday, approximately 2.6 million users had viewed the viral video.

Now let's see if one of the gym teachers can recite the Gettysburg Address!