Two Football Players Donate Own Clothes to Boy Who Was Bullied for Wearing the Same Outfit Every Day
A student recently received a beautiful surprise from two schoolmates after suffering through relentless bullying during the first few weeks of high school.
Micheal Todd, a 15-year-old freshman at Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory School in Memphis, Tennessee, found himself the subject of cruel teasing from other students after he wore the same clothes to school several days in a row.
These comments were nothing new for the teen, who told WHBQ-TV in Memphis, “I’ve been bullied my entire life.”
“I really don’t have clothes at home. My mom can’t buy clothes for me because I’m growing too fast,” he said.
Micheal wasn’t the only one in the neighborhood struggling with this issue. A representative from the school, Erica Williams, told People, “Unfortunately, situations that show students in need are not unique within our school because we serve a demographic where the household income is well below the state and national average.”
Still, during the school day, his classmates‘ actions made Micheal feel like he was all alone.
However, one of the students who had joined in the laughter while the freshman was being teased soon felt his poor behavior weighing on his conscience. Kristopher Graham, a football player at the school, knew that what he did was wrong, and not long afterward, he decided to make amends.
“When I saw people laugh at him and bully him, I felt like I needed to do something,” Kristopher said.
The teenager called up his friend and teammate, Antwain Garrett, and together the two boys raided their own closets for shirts, shorts and shoes. They gathered up a good collection of clothes, stuffed them into a bag and headed to school.
When the two football players approached Micheal in the hallway, he had no idea what to expect.
“He wasn’t smiling, and I was like, yeah, I think this is gonna make him smile,” Kristopher said. “I told him, ‘We’re in the same third period and I apologize for laughing at you and I want to give something to you to make it up.’”
Another student recorded the special moment they gave Micheal the bag of clothes, as the stunned 15-year-old took them in disbelief.
“I was very happy, I was shocked completely,” he said, thankful not only for the clothes but for two new friends to sit with in the cafeteria.
“At lunch he told me, he was like, ‘You know, you two are the only two that actually ever gave me a gift,'” Kristopher said. Now, the teens are being applauded for their response to the bullying, as they chose to spread kindness instead of contempt.
“Antwain, Micheal and Kristopher are overwhelmed by the outpour of support from our community and people from across the country,” Williams said.
The school is supporting the students’ gesture and has a donation site set up for anyone who wants to help students in need: http://fraysercs.org/give/
“Some good deeds don’t go unnoticed. We are so proud of these students who didn’t expect their kind gesture that was caught on camera to go viral,” the school wrote in a Facebook post.
Micheal is still thrilled, enjoying his new wardrobe to the fullest.
It was “the best day of my entire life,” the teen said.
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