“It’s just not right for parents to bury their kids — it’s just not right.”
According to a report from the Associated Press, former sports superstar Bo Jackson visited Uvalde, TX in the days following the horrific mass shooting and helped pay for the funerals of the victims. Jackson’s donation was initially anonymous, but his generosity is now being widely reported.
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old,” said Jackson, a 60-year-old father of three. “It’s just not right for parents to bury their kids. It’s just not right.”
“I know every family there probably works their butts off just to do what they do. … The last thing they needed was to shell out thousands of dollars for something that never should have happened.”
From The Associated Press:
Jackson said he felt a personal connection to the city he’s driven through many times. Uvalde has been a regular stop for a bite to eat or groceries before a long drive farther west to visit a friend’s ranch on hunting trips.
It was his familiarity with the feel of Uvalde’s Main Street, leafy town square and the people he’d met on those stops that touched his heart when the news broke on May 24th of the shooting at Robb Elementary. Law enforcement has been heavily criticized for taking more than an hour to enter the classroom where the 18-year-old gunman carried out the attack, and a Texas House investigative report laid blame on the school district, saying a lax safety culture, spotty alert system and unlocked doors also contributed.
Jackson met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott shortly after the massacre and presented a check for $170,000 with an offer to pay for all funeral expenses.
“We didn’t want media,” Jackson said. “No one knew we were there.”
“Uvalde is a town that sticks in your mind. Just the name,” Jackson added. “I don’t know a soul there. It just touched me.”
Abbott praised Jackson for “lifting up” his fellow Americans.
“The true spirit of our nation is Americans lifting up one another in times of need and hardship,” Abbott said. “In a truly selfless act, Bo covered all funeral expenses for the victims’ families so they would have one less thing to worry about as they grieved.”
Continue reading over at The New York Post:
Bo Jackson helped pay for funerals of Uvalde school massacre victims https://t.co/R6PVH7NJFi pic.twitter.com/X6f4Q35XsW
— New York Post (@nypost) July 22, 2022
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