His name is Robert Bobroczky. At 7feet 7 inches in height, he has become the world’s tallest teenage sensation at just 17. He was 6ft 2 inches tall at 8 years old. He was the last player to emerge from the victorious locker room, arching his neck just enough to fit under the doorway. He put a red hood over his head and made his way through the cinder-block hallways of an unfamiliar arena. He couldn’t find his teammates, reports Washington Post
Bobroczkyi stood behind a black curtain by the entrance of the gym. He peeked out and could see that people were already gawking. Finally, he spotted his teammates in the stands and made a run for it. Hundreds of people whipped out their phones and began recording, some trying to be discreet, as if they felt bad about filming a 17-year-old who has never had a say in being 7 feet 7 inches tall.
He walked up a section full of students and kept his head down. Little kids, giggling, chased him and formed a line to get his autograph in their tournament programs, which advertised Bobroczkyi as an “attraction” even though he hadn’t played a second in the game his team just won. He signed at least a hundred items, nodding after each child thanked him. He shooed away all photo requests from older spectators, refusing to be a trophy on their Instagram and Facebook accounts. Already he has reported three Instagram accounts for using his name and videos of him.
“Hey, Rob, can you go sit somewhere else? We’re trying to watch the game,” one teammate joked, and Bobroczkyi’s face turned red before he let out a laugh. He has been both a medical study and a social-media curiosity for years, but his friends always make him feel normal. He lowered his hood. The line of autograph seekers and photo hounds thinned.
Bobroczkyi can relax around his teammates at Spire Academy, which is based about 45 minutes east of Cleveland.
A half-hour earlier, Bobroczkyi watched his Spire Academy teammates win the opening game of the Flyin’ To The Hoop tournament, which is considered one of the premier high school basketball events in the country. His young coach, Justin Clark, stood protectively beside Bobroczkyi outside the locker room afterward.
“Where did they go?” Clark asked before Bobroczkyi made a break for it, wondering where the rest of his players were sitting. “I just don’t want him to get bombarded.”
Clark spanned the arena for different routes to reach the rest of the team in the upper deck. This has become normal for the coach, because Bobroczkyi’s high school experience is anything but. He’s thousands of miles from his family in Romania, and for any teenager that would be difficult enough. But his height exacerbates everything.
The Spire Academy provides specialized training, schooling and living accommodations for high school and postgraduate athletes. It is part of the Spire Institute, a 750,000-square foot facility on an unassuming 175-acre plot about 45 minutes east of Cleveland. Built in 2009, the complex has been christened as a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training facility, and the small town of Geneva, Ohio, has become a beacon for athletes.
