Bo knows compassion.
The former two-sport pro athlete Bo Jackson ponied up money to help pay for the funerals of the 21 victims of the May massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Jackson told the Associated Press in an interview that he couldn’t fathom the pain that the victims’ families were in, especially since he’s both a parent and a grandparent himself. He said he had frequently stopped in the small town during long road trips, and decided once he heard the news to stroke a $170,000 check along with a friend, to help pay for the burials.
From the Associated Press
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 24 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.
Three days later, Jackson and a close friend flew to Uvalde, briefly met with Gov. Greg Abbott and presented a check for $170,000 with an offer to pay for all funeral expenses.
Jackson, if you’re too unseasoned to remember, was among the top athletes of his generation. A fearsome running back, he won the 1985 Heisman Trophy while at Auburn, which retired his number 34 jersey. After being drafted by the then Los-Angeles Raiders in 1987, he terrorized NFL defenses while racking up an Associated Press Rookie of the Year award and a pro-bowl appearance before his career was cut short by a catastrophic hip injury in his fourth season.
Being dominant in football wasn’t enough, so Jackson also ruled on the baseball diamond and in the endorsement game. He played for Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and California Angels between 1986 and 1994; in 1989 he was the MLB All-Star MVP.
And before there was a “Like Mike”, Michael Jordan’s iconic ‘90s Nike commercial campaign, there was “Bo Knows”, a campaign starring Jackson that kicked off two years earlier.