Jackson, whose rare success in both the NFL and Major League Baseball made him one of the biggest and most marketable athletes of the 1980s and 1990s, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he felt compelled to support the victims’ families after his loss. many children. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting old,” said Jackson, a father of three and grandfather as he approaches 60. “It’s just not right for parents to bury their children. It’s just not right. “I know every family out there probably works hard just to do what they do. … The last thing they needed was to spend thousands of dollars on something that should never have happened.” Jackson said he felt a personal connection to the city he has passed through many times. Uvalde was a regular stop for food or groceries before a long drive further west to visit a friend’s ranch on hunting trips. Bo Jackson flew to Uvalde, Texas, in the wake of May’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School and presented a check for $170,000 and offered to pay all funeral expenses for the victims. Getty Images It was his familiarity with the feel of Uvalde’s main street, the town’s green plaza and the people he had met at those stops that touched his heart when news broke May 24 of the Robb Elementary shooting. 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 faulted the school district, saying a lax safety culture, a flawed notification system and unlocked doors also contributed. Three days later, Jackson and a close friend flew to Uvalde, met briefly with Gov. Greg Abbott and presented a check for $170,000 offering to pay all funeral expenses. Abbott announced it as an anonymous donation during a press conference on May 27 about the state’s aid to victims. “We didn’t want media,” he said. “No one knew we were there.” And though Jackson suggested he hasn’t kept it a secret, he hadn’t spoken publicly about what prompted him to make the trip to Uvalde and the donation until this week. “Uvalde is a city that stays in your mind. Just the name,” Jackson said. “I don’t know a soul there. He just touched me.” Jackson declined to name the friend who went with him and also contributed to the donation. A Democratic staff member creates a visual aid with photos of the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School during the House Judiciary Committee business meeting on HR1808, the Assault Weapons Ban, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 20. SHAWN THEW/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Other fundraising efforts have since raised millions to help families, and local funeral homes have said they will not charge families for services. But Jackson’s donation was an early glimmer of light for the grieving families. Abbott’s office said Jackson’s money was “quickly directed to cover funeral expenses” through OneStar, a nonprofit created to promote volunteerism and community service in Texas, including Uvalde’s relief efforts. “The true spirit of our nation is for Americans to lift each other up in times of need and difficulty,” Abbott said. “In a truly selfless act, Bo covered all funeral expenses for the families of the victims so they had one less thing to worry about as they grieved.” Jackson said he was following news coverage of the funerals, but declined to say whether he had been in direct contact with any of the families. On the day of the shooting, Jackson tweeted: “America…let’s please stop all the nonsense. Please pray for all the victims. If you hear something, say something. We should not bury our children. I am praying for all the families across the country who have lost loved ones to senseless shootings. This cannot continue.” When asked to elaborate on “This Can’t Go On,” however, Jackson declined, saying only that he wrote what he meant. “I don’t want to turn it into anything (but) what it is. I was just trying (with the donation) to put some sunshine on someone’s cloud, a very dark cloud,” Jackson said. But he also noted the regularity of mass shootings in the country. “The last thing you want to hear is that there’s an active shooter at your child’s school,” he said. “It’s happening everywhere now.” Uvalde was not Jackson’s first large-scale act of charity. He hosts an annual bike ride in his hometown of Alabama to raise money for disaster relief funds, an effort that began after tornadoes killed nearly 250 people. Uvalde’s donation was his first in response to a mass shooting. “It’s the kids. … It’s the kids. … It’s the kids,” Jackson said, pausing before each repetition to collect himself. “If it doesn’t bother you, there’s something wrong with you.”
