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Film honoring Pat Summitt debuts with surprise guest

The film honors the legacy of Coach Summitt and the tens of thousands of girls and women she has inspired around the world through basketball.

The Bijou Theatre rolled out the orange carpet for the premiere of a documentary about an East Tennessee legend.

“Pat: A Legacy of Love" tells the story of how Pat encouraged and inspired thousands of women in Iraq to play basketball. One of those was Khoshee Muhammed, who traveled all the way from Iraq to surprise the crowd after the film.

She told the crowd how Summitt's legacy continues to grow the game of women's basketball in her country.

Women were not encouraged to play sports in Iraq, but Muhammed loved it.

It was at a basketball camp coached by two UT graduates where she first learned about Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols.

When Summitt found out about the program, and the fact they only had four basketballs, she cleaned out the storage closet at UT, and all the way from Knoxville came a gift of uniforms, equipment and lots of basketballs.

"Like it was the first time to see these colored balls they were orange and blue. They were exciting and it was like attracting you to play the ball," Muhammed said.

She actually met her hero in 2009, when she and a group of girls traveled 7000 miles to attend Coach Summitt's camp on the UT campus.

"Wow that was amazing. The practice, the shooting drills, the way she treated the girls it was a amazing," she said.

Muhammed said she will always look up to Summit for inspiration and guidance as she leads the next generation of girls in her home country through the drills of basketball and life.

"It will be my dream to be the Pat Summitt of Iraq," she said. "I want to touch everybody--- every single life I touch from bad to make it better and to best. I want to be like her. It's the only thing I want to be."

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A documentary film honoring legendary Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt,'s role in rebuilding women’s basketball in Iraq will debut Thursday at the Bijou Theatre.

“Pat: A Legacy of Love" is presented by Coaching Change and espnW and was produced by UT graduates Sarah Hillyer and Ashleigh Huffman, now co-founders and directors of the Center for Sport, Peace, and Society at the University of Tennessee.

The film makers set out to honor the legacy of Coach Summitt and the tens of thousands of girls and women she has inspired around the world through basketball.

Several former former players, administrators, and journalists, including Michelle Brooke-Marciniak, Holly Warlick, Joan Cronan, and Sally Jenkins, appear in the film.

TRAILER: Pat: A legacy of love

The event will be held on Sept. 7, 2017 at the Bijou Theatre in downtown Knoxville at 7 p.m.

Tickets go on sale Friday, July 28. General admission tickets are $15 and student tickets are $10. Attendees interested in a VIP experience can purchase tickets for $40, which will include special behind-the-scene features and conversations with the producers and cast.

A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit the Pat Summitt Foundation as well as the girls and women fighting for their right to play sports around the world.

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