Editing Kermit Washington (section)

==Early life==
Kermit Washington's mother Barbara<ref name="Fn110">Feinstein pg. 110</ref> graduated from Miner Teachers’ College (later subsumed into [[University of the District of Columbia]]); his father Alexander was an [[Radiologic technologist|X-ray technician]].<ref name="Fn110"/><ref name="halb">Halberstam. pg. 256</ref> When he was three years old, his parents had a fight in which his uncle was violently attacked with an iron.<ref name="halb"/> His parents soon divorced, with his father awarded custody of the children. His mother, who suffered from [[bipolar disorder]], then took custody of him and his older brother Eric from their father. Struggling to find money to feed the children, she eventually called their father, who took them back.<ref name="halb"/> His stay with his father did not last long, and he and his brother were passed around to various relatives on both sides of the family.<ref name="halb"/>

Washington was a shy child.<ref name="halb2">Halberstam. pg. 257</ref> The only time he recalled feeling a sense of self-worth was when his great-grandmother on his father's side had the pair for a while.<ref name="halb2"/> According to Washington, she loved the boys but was extremely strict, domineering, and at times, physically abusive.<ref>Feinstein. pgs. 111–12</ref> After his father remarried, the children moved back in with him and his new wife. Washington felt a sense of optimism for the first time, saying "I thought it was our dream come true. All our lives we had seen nice families on TV. Real ones. Now we were going to be a real family."<ref>Feinstein. pg. 111</ref> However, he again felt unwanted this time by his stepmother.<ref name="halb2"/> As a small child, Washington said that he had no recollections of ever being hugged, and only felt close to his younger brother, [[Chris Washington (American footballer)|Chris]].<ref name="halb2"/> Washington was a poor student who hated school throughout most of his childhood.<ref name="halb3">Halberstam. pg. 258</ref> He had to retake many of his classes in [[summer school]] to raise his grades.<ref>Feinstein. pg. 121</ref> When he entered high school he played football merely so he could be around a close friend, and have someone to walk home with at night as he was terrified of walking home alone.<ref name="halb3"/>

As a senior in high school, Washington stood {{height|ft=6|in=4}} but weighed a mere 150&nbsp;lbs.<ref name="halb3"/> After some rare positive feedback by his biology teacher, Barbara Thomas, he began to study and put forth a greater effort in that class.<ref>Feinstein. pg. 115</ref><ref name="halb4"/> He quickly became a solid student in biology but poor in all other subjects.<ref name="halb4">Halberstam. pg. 259</ref> When Thomas became his [[home room]] teacher and saw his grades in other classes she encouraged him to try hard in all of his courses.<ref name="halb4"/><ref>Feinstein. pg. 116</ref> Washington rapidly improved his marks, making the honor roll in his senior year.<ref name="halb4"/>

His basketball performance in high school was unimpressive.<ref>Feinstein. pg. 114</ref> He came off the bench to average four [[points per game]] (ppg).<ref name="halb4"/><ref>Feinstein. pg. 122</ref> His stepmother informed him that when he graduated from high school he would be thrown out of the house.<ref name="halb4"/> He trained for three hours a day toward the end of his senior season, and showed up uninvited at a [[streetball|playground game]] featuring top high school players from Washington and Pennsylvania, where he talked his way into the game.<ref>Halberstam. pgs. 259-60</ref><ref>Feinstein. pgs. 116–8</ref> [[Tom Young (basketball coach)|Tom Young]], who had recently left his job as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland to become head coach at [[American University]], saw him play there, and although Washington did not perform particularly well, Young was impressed by his hustle and how he ignored the poor treatment he received from the people who organized the game.<ref>Halberstam. pg. 260</ref>