Bo Jackson was known for incredible feats on the football field and baseball diamond. He was truly an anomaly, having been one of the best players in the NFL and Major League Baseball at the same time during a point in the 90s. A lesser part known characteristic of the former Heisman Trophy winner is his charitability.
The former Oakland Raiders and MLB star revealed this week that he has donated the entire cost for the funerals for the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, earlier this year.
Although Jackson said he doesn’t have any connection to the school — outside driving by the town on hunting trips, he claims he just felt compelled to do so in a statement during an interview with the AP.
The victims of the tragic mass shooting include 19 students and two teachers who were all killed in May.
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old. It’s just not right for parents to bury their kids. It’s just not right,” he told The Associated Press.
“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.”
Jackson said he flew to Uvalde where he met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for some time before donating $170,000 to cover the funeral expenses. Even though Abbott kept the status of the donor quiet, Jackson announced it anyways just three weeks later.
“We didn’t want media. No one knew we were there … Uvalde is just a town that sticks in your mind. Just the name. I don’t know a soul there. It just touched me.”
A generous gesture from a man who wowed fans with his rare skillset as a successful two-sport athlete.
During his heyday, he spent time with the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, Angels and Raiders during his playing career. Before all of that, he destroyed opposing linebackers as a bruising runner for the Auburn Tigers.
Not wanting to make a statement with his donation, he said he wants to put a little sunshine over the cloud of everyone who is suffering.
“I don’t want to turn this into anything [but] what it is,” Jackson said, via The Associated Press. “I was just trying [with the donation] to put a little sunshine in someone’s cloud, a very dark cloud … It’s the children. It’s the children. It’s the children.
“If it doesn’t bother you, something’s wrong with you.”
The Uvalde shooting was the deadliest at a school in the United States since the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut in 2012.
