Texas school shooting: Bo Jackson helped pay for Uvalde funerals
AUSTIN, Texas – Former two-sport star Bo Jackson helped pay for the funerals of the 19 children and two teachers killed at a Texas elementary school in May.
According to The Associated Press, Jackson, who won the Heisman Trophy while playing football for Auburn University in 1985, revealed himself as one of the previously anonymous donors who helped pay the funeral expenses for the victims killed in the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old,” Jackson, 59, a father of three and a grandfather, told the AP. “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, who starred in the NFL and played major league baseball during the 1980s, and 1990s, said he has driven through Uvalde “many times” and stopped to eat or buy groceries before traveling farther west to visit a friend’s ranch for hunting trips, the AP reported.
Three days after the shooting, Jackson and a friend — whom he did not identify — met briefly with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and gave him a check for $170,000, offering to pay for all of the victims’ funeral expenses.
The governor announced the donation as an anonymous gift during a news conference on May 27, according to the AP.
Texas school shooting: Report on Uvalde shooting details ‘systemic failures’
“We didn’t want media,” Jackson told the AP. “No one knew we were there.”
It was the first time Jackson had spoken publicly about visiting Uvalde to make the donation.
“Uvalde is a town that sticks in your mind. Just the name,” Jackson told the AP. “I don’t know a soul there. It just touched me.”
Abbott’s office said Jackson’s money was “quickly directed to cover funeral costs” through OneStar, a nonprofit created to further volunteerism and community service in Texas, including Uvalde relief efforts.
“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.”
Jackson tweeted a plea hours after the 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the school.
“America … let’s please stop all the nonsense,” he tweeted. “Please pray for all victims. If you hear something, say something. We aren’t supposed to bury our children. I’m praying for all of the families around the country who have lost loved ones to senseless shootings. This cannot continue.”
When asked to elaborate on the “This cannot continue,” Jackson declined, saying only that he wrote what he meant.
“I don’t want to turn this into anything (but) what it is,” he told the AP. “I was just trying (with the donation) to put a little sunshine in someone’s cloud, a very dark cloud.”
Here are some memorable photos of two-sport star Bo Jackson through the years.
1985: Bo Jackson, running back of Auburn, poses with Tim Greene, right, of Syracuse for the AP All-America team in 1985.
1985: Auburn University’s Bo Jackson poses with the Heisman Trophy at New York’s Hilton Hotel, Thursday evening, Dec. 12, 1985. Jackson was named outstanding college football player of the year by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York.
1986: National Football League Commissioner Pete Rozelle, left, stands with Auburn running back Bo Jackson after he was chosen first in the NFL draft in New York on Tuesday, April 29, 1986, by Tampa Bay.
1986: Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson loosens up by throwing the ball during warmups with the Class AA Memphis Chicks on Sunday, June 29, 1986.
1987: Outfielder Bo Jackson, of the Kansas City Royals, follows through on a swing against the Seattle Mariners Sunday, June 7, 1987, in the Kingdome.
1987: Former Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson stretches along the sidelines Sunday, Oct. 25, 1987, after suiting up for his first NFL appearance with the Los Angeles Raiders.
1989: Bo Jackson holds up the MVP trophy after receiving the honor at the All-Star game in Anaheim, California, Tuesday, July 11, 1989. Jackson went 2-4 with a home run and a single and was credited with one stolen base.
1989: Kansas City Royals outfielder Bo Jackson helps his fleet-footed toddler, 1-year-old Nicholas, run from third base to home during the father-kids game in Kansas City, Mo., Aug. 10, 1989.
1989: Michael Jackson fakes a pass to Bo Jackson of the Los Angeles Raiders and Kansas City Royals at Michael’s recording studio in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 1989. Bo stopped by for a visit and gave Michael an autographed football and a baseball.
1991: Bo Jackson holds his crutches while waiting on the set during taping of his latest commercial for Nike in Culver City, Calif., May 1991. Jackson arrived on crutches to shoot the latest in the "Bo Knows …" series of ads, but was able to make the dance steps and other moves needed for the ad.
1991: Bo Jackson dances during the taping of a Nike commercial in May 1991 in Culver City, Calif. Jackson’s hip injury put his professional baseball and football careers on hold, but hasn’t cost him a step in his job as commercial pitchman.
1991: Chicago White Sox outfielder Bo Jackson is shown in August 1991 during his rehabilitation stint in Sarasota, Florida.
1993: Chicago White Sox player Bo Jackson waves to the crowd as he takes a victory lap around Comiskey Park in Chicago following his team’s 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, Sept. 27, 1993. Jackson’s three-run homer in the sixth inning provided the winning score as the White Sox won the American League Western Division title.
1995: Bo Jackson embraces his wife, Linda, in their backyard in Burr Ridge, Ill., April 4, 1995, where he plans to spend most of his time with his family, after announcing his retirement from baseball.
2010: Bo Jackson during the All-Star Legends & Celebrity softball game, Sunday, July 11, 2010, in Anaheim, Calif.
2011: Former Auburn player Bo Jackson attends the Chick-fil-A Bowl NCAA college football game between Auburn and Virginia Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, in Atlanta.
2012: Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson acknowledges the crowd after being introduced prior to the annual spring A Day game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., Saturday, April 14, 2012.
2013: Former baseball and football player Bo Jackson is recognized on the field as a MLB Beacon Award recipient before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers baseball game Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Chicago. The teams were playing in the seventh annual Civil Rights Game.
2014: Former baseball and football player Bo Jackson talks with Chicago White Sox first base coach Daryl Boston (17) before the White Sox’s spring exhibition baseball game against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, March 18, 2014, in Glendale, Ariz.
2016: Former MLB and NFL player Bo Jackson looks at a replica of his bobble head that was given away to fans before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers Thursday, July 21, 2016, in Chicago.
2017: Former Auburn tailback Bo Jackson, right, and ex-Georgia star Herschel Walker speak during the first half of the Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game between Auburn and Georgia, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017, in Atlanta. They were recognized on the field during a second-quarter time out. Jackson won the Heisman Trophy in 1985, and Walker captured it three years earlier.
Irma Garcia was a teacher at Robb Elementary. It was confirmed through a GoFundMe site set up to raise funds for funeral expenses and family needs. Garcia was a wife and mother to four children. She died shielding students from gunfire.
Courtesy: Felix and Kimberly Rubio
Undated family photos of Lexi Rubio, who was killed in Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Photos of Robb Elementary School victim Jose Flores Jr., 10
Xavier Lopez, a victim in the school shooting on May 24, 2022, is pictured in an undated family photo.
Courtesy Cecily Saenz and Laura Mejia
Fourth-grader Xavier Lopez died in the school shooting, his family confirmed to ABC News.
According to his cousin, Xavier’s mom was at his awards ceremony one to two hours prior to the shooting, not knowing it would be the last time she would see him.
Eva Mireles, 4th Grade Teacher at Robb Elementary and victim in the school shooting on May 24, 2022, is pictured in an undated family photo.
Courtesy Lydia Martinez Delgado
Eva Mireles, a fourth-grade teacher at the elementary school, was killed in the shooting, her aunt, Lydia Martinez Delgado, confirmed to ABC News. She had been a teacher in the school district for approximately 17 years, Delgado said.
Aunt Polly Flores identified her two nieces Annabelle Rodriguez, 10 and Jackie Cazares, 10 as among the students killed in the Uvalde shooting. They were both in the fourth grade, in the same class at Robb Elementary. (Courtesy Polly Flores via ABC News)
Eliahana Cruz Torres, in an undated family photo. Torres died in the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (The Cruz family via ABC)
Amerie jo Garza, a victim in the school shooting on May 24, 2022, is pictured in an undated family photo. (Courtesy Angel Garza via ABC News)
Aunt Polly Flores identified her two nieces Annabelle Rodriguez, 10 and Jackie Cazares, 10 as among the students killed in the Uvalde shooting. They were both in the fourth grade, in the same class at Robb Elementary, she told me.
Annabelle is holding an honor roll certificate. (Courtesy Polly Flores via ABC News)
Esmeralda Bravo, 63, sheds tears while holding a photo of her granddaughter, Nevaeh, one of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims, during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Two family members of one of the victims killed in Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School comfort each other during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Family members of one of the victims killed in Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School embrace each other after a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Stormy Flores, 11, sits with a sign bearing the names of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, far right, prays with a man during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. The vigil was held to honor the victims killed in Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School.
A young girl listen to a message during a prayer vigil for the Robb Elementary School shooting victims in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, right, and Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco pray during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. The vigil was held to honor the victims killed in Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Esmeralda Bravo, center, holds a photo of her granddaughter, Nevaeh, one of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims, as she is comforted by Nevaeh’s cousin, Anayeli, during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
Family members and relatives of Nevaeh Bravo, one of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims, attend a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
People listen to a message during a prayer vigil for the Robb Elementary School shooting victims in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.
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