James Harden of the NBA’s Houston Rockets visits with a wounded warrior at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on Dec. 17, 2015.

Too often, highly-paid sports figures are referred to as “heroes” by fawning announcers and sportswriters. As I’m sure the Houston Rockets would agree after spending time with valiant Americans like the young man pictured above, our nation’s real heroes don’t dribble a basketball or throw a football. They are the selfless men and women who volunteer to risk their lives for our freedom.

Thank you to James Harden and the Houston Rockets for visiting the wounded warriors of Walter Reed.