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Former dual-sport professional athlete Bo Jackson helped pay for the funerals of all the victims killed in the Uvalde massacre in May.
Jackson, a former Heisman Trophy winner at Auburn University who achieved rare superstar success in both the National Football League and Major League Baseball, revealed himself as the anonymous donor who presented a $170,000 check to Texas Governor Greg Abott to pay for the funeral services of the 21 victims killed in the mass shooting while speaking to the Associated Press on Wednesday (July 20).
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old,” said Jackson, a father and grandfather will turn 60 in November. “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.”
Jackson said he felt a personal connection to Uvalde, having driven through the small town numerous times en route to a friend's ranch on hunting trips.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed via NBC News.
The incident on Tuesday was the deadliest shooting at a U.S. elementary school since the 2012 incident at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, Connecticut, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six adults.