Celebrity Basketball Game to Aid Injured Chatsworth Defensive Back

A celebrity basketball game to help pay the medical expenses of a Chatsworth High football player who was partially paralyzed during a game in December is scheduled for Tuesday at Chatsworth High .

The basketball game, which will match a faculty team against a team of television personalities, will include Kirk Cameron of “Growing Pains” and about 15 others. Cameron is a senior at Chatsworth. Also on the celebrity team is Ram defensive back Johnny Johnson.

DeWayne Lyons, a senior All-Sunset League defensive back, was left paralyzed below the waist after colliding with a Fairfax wide receiver during a first-round City Section 3-A Division playoff game.

Lyons spent three weeks at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, then was moved to Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Downey in late December. He is not expected to be released until June. His condition has improved and he is able to spend weekends at home. He said he will attend the fund-raiser.

“I feel much better,” Lyons said. “My muscles in my upper body have been weak, but they’re starting to come back. I’ve been lifting weights from a pulley system every day. I’m getting stronger and getting my balance back.”

Chatsworth Athletic Director Donna Wyatt said that as much as $10,000 could be raised if the gym sells out. Admission for the 7:30 p.m. game is $5.