Teacher writes open letter asking Steph Curry to 'not' visit campus

HAYWARD, Calif. (KTVU) - With the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs, and their star Stephen Curry the league MVP, you might think any Bay Area school would scramble to get Curry to visit the campus.

But an East Bay high school teacher wrote Curry an open letter asking him not to come to his campus.

In a classroom behind images of Frida Kahlo and Cesar Chavez, at Hayward's Mt. Eden High School, critical thinking is underway. The day's discussion revolved around a blog post written by teacher Matt Amaral entitled, ‘Dear Steph Curry, Now That You Are MVP Please Don't Come Visit My High School.'

"It presents a different view that what we also need here on this campus is not just celebrities and pro athletes, we need professionals," explained Amaral.

The open letter has gone viral, with 40,000 views on Tuesday alone. Amaral read it with his students.

"You see the kids I am talking about do not play year round, they are not in a traveling league, and they have never even heard of a McDonald's All-American. They just eat McDonald's two meals a day and have Hot Cheetos in between," Amaral read.

The life-long Warriors fan emphasizes he admires Curry. He's just trying to make a larger point. "Not everybody had Del Curry as their father. Not everybody gets that growth spurt that Steph Curry was always waiting for, and he got up to 6'3". And most of the students that I know are not going to see 6'3"."

Amaral says it's about having realistic goals and dreams, and that young people need to realize that there's just a one in a million shot of making it to the NBA or becoming a rock star. "Education is the great equalizer. With pro athletics and a lot of jobs, that isn't necessarily the case."

He adds Curry would be a great guest speaker, but that some students might hear the wrong message.

His students agree. "I feel like people will see he made it to the NBA, so then like everyone else can make it to the NBA. They can make it also," says 10th grader, Mariana Tecua.

10th grader Victor Ruiz says, "I think it would open a lot of the boys eyes, in like every school, not just here. And it will make them realize that they need a second plan."

Principal Greg Fobbs added that after playing college basketball, he actually got a tryout with the Warriors in the 70s. That didn't work out so he fell back on his plan B: being a high school principal.

Click here to read Matt Amaral's entire open letter to Stephen Curry.