Indiana University basketball guardย Anthony Lealย surprises his sister by paying off her student loans. After the NCAA changed their policy in 2021 and started allowing college athletes to earn endorsement money, IU basketball star Leal hit the ground running, cashing in on his talents. By the end of last year, the junior shooting guard had saved โtens of thousands of dollars.โ
But rather than spend the money on himself, Anthony decided to make good on a goal heโd set for himself. On Christmas morning as the Leal family opened presents at their Bloomington home, Anthonyโs sisterย Lauren Lealย got a card from her little brother. Anthonyโs parentsย tweetedย a video of the touching moment when his sister opened the card and read that heโd paid off all of her student loan debt.
Lauren had just graduated from IU and had racked up a "very solid, five-figureโ amount of student debt. She says in the video that she doesnโt even know how much it was exactly and her brother replies, โI do. Itโs zero now.โ Anthony says it โfelt goodโ to help his older sister, who he says is responsible for helping to get where he is today. "It was a good little way to finish off Christmas morning," Anthony says, adding that he enjoyed the reaction from his family, "I was happy to put a smile on their faces."