VIRAL VIDEO: Teens give back to student once harassed over clothing
A boy who was bullied for wearing the same clothes everyday got some help from two students at Martin Luther King College Prep in Memphis, Tenn., including one who actually teased him.
—Virginia school forfeits football game over racial slur post—
A video went viral of the two football team members handing Micheal Todd a bag full of clothing and a new pair of shoes after he became the butt of many jokes for his lack of apparel and wearing the same outfit each day.
Interesting enough, Kristopher Graham, one of the students giving Todd clothes had been one of the bullies who teased him. Now he’s working to make things right.
“When I saw people laugh and bully him, I felt like I needed to do something,” Graham told WHBQ-TV. “I got some brand-new shoes I can give him and a few items.”
Graham recruited his football teammate Antwain Garrett to help him get some items together to give to Todd. Together they put a box of brand-new apparel in a box and some from their closets and donated to Todd.
“He wasn’t smiling or anything, and I was like, ‘I think this is going to make you smile,’ ” Graham told the outlet.
“We’re in the same third period, and I apologize for laughing at you, and I want to give you something to make it up,” Graham said he told Todd.
A bystander filmed the exchange and it made its rounds on social media.
“I brought you some shorts,” one of the boys can be heard saying in the video.
Todd seemed appreciative: “You guys are the best guys of my entire life,” he told the gift-givers.
The viral video prompted school officials and others to donate to Todd.
“Antwain, Micheal and Kristopher are overwhelmed by the outpour of support from our community and people from across the country,” Frayser Community Schools spokeswoman 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.”
Todd said it was “The best day of my entire life,” he told USA Today. “I was shocked, completely.”
