Two decades ago, Natalie Gilbert and Maurice Cheeks made national news for their chance encounter when 13-year-old Gilbert froze while singing ”The Star-Spangled Banner” before a playoff game and Cheeks, then the Trail Blazers head coach, stepped in to assist her.
The pair is once again a national story after the Blazers invited Gilbert, now Natalie Zito, back to sing the national anthem Wednesday in front of Cheeks, currently an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.
Throughout Thursday’s episode of ABC’s “World News Tonight,” host David Muir teased a heartwarming story and, at the end of the show, there were Cheeks and Gilbert.
Natalie Gilbert Maurice Cheeks
The Portland Trail Blazers brought back Natalie Gilbert, now Natalie Zito, to sing the national anthem prior to a game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Former Portland coach Maurice Cheeks was also in attendance as an assistant coach for the Knicks.Portland Trail Blazers
Muir said that Zito told the program “she hopes everyone knows it’s OK to make mistakes. It’s all about how you recover and become stronger.”
As he signed off for the night, Muir added, “A lesson for us all in that.”
Muir’s “World News Tonight” has been the top-rated nightly news program for the last nine years, drawing 7.9 million viewers per night. Muir replaced Diane Sawyer as the host of the program in 2014.
Read more
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--Bill Oram is the sports columnist at The Oregonian/OregonLive.