The Reporter

Vol. CXXII Issue 6 Stetson University I DeLand, Fla. Defensive back Trezdun Jackson gives stranger at Wal-Mart $100 to buy groceries for her and her children Sean McKnight Sports Editor It seems as though the college and professional football world has been surrounded by scandal lately. All we ever see and hear in sports anymore are the revelations and allegations of football players mistreating women. The headlines have been appalling: lingering sexual-assault allegations against FSU's star quarterback Jameis Winston; a fe- ■mate co\te%e student accusing and later retracting charges of sexual battery against UF's quarterback Treon Harris; the dreadful video of Ray Rice knocking his future wife unconscious in a casino elevator; and the conviction of defensive star Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panthers for beating up and threatening to kill his former girlfriend. As an avid, some would say rabid, college and pro football fan, to see players who I had formerly respected and revered resort to such heinous acts has slowly made me lose faith in football. That was, until I came across the story of Stetson's very own defensive back Trezdun Jackson and the email from a woman who was not accusing a football player of a violent crime, but thanking him for an act of kindness. "I have been blessed with the most generous act of kindness my soul has ever witnessed," the woman wrote in her email to Stetson's Athletic Department. "I am a local DeLand resident who is very grateful for what I have, but to be honest to say, I don't have much. While I was finishing up some shopping with my five children at Wal-Mart, I went to the checkout counter and was informed my food stamps were not valid, and I did not have $20 to my name. I immediately burst into tears and begged the cashier for mercy when out of nowhere a young man wearing a Stetson football shirt handed $100 and left his groceries behind him. I [found out later] the young man's name was Trezdun Jackson. I was so overwhelmed with this act that 1 didn't really have a chance to properly thank him. Please relay this message to the young man Photo courtesy: gohatters.com and let him know that his help will never be forgotten, and we are more than extremely grateful for the money he gave us " In a day and age when there is upheaval and complaints among athletes in the Power-5 conferences and at big-time institutions for not being compensated enough for playing college football, Stetson's players actually pay the school for the opportunity to play football and receive an education. Instead of coming across as angry mean-spirited individuals, Stetson's players not only appear thoughtful and big-hearted, but also have character befitting of fine educated men. Jackson and his teammates apply for scholarships, grants, and loans to pay their way through school just like the rest of us here on campus. They appreciate the opportunity, not the right, to play the sport they love and enjoy. Jackson had a chance to speak with a reporter from the Orlando Sentinel about why he did what he did: "The items in my cart were irrelevant. She had kids she was trying to feed. You could tell she was having a rough time of it. 1 didn't really think about it; it just seemed like the right thing to do." Although this refreshing story will probably not get national coverage on a news network such as ESPN, it is nice to see football players treat people with kindness and respect. "Men are supposed to protect women, not abuse them," Jackson said. "I love my mother and my sister, and it's hard for me to understand how a man could hit a woman like Ray Rice did. It ruins your image of NFL players. I don't understand how you could be living a dream and then throw it away by hitting your wife. That's crazy." With all of the violent crimes reported in the news recently, it's seldom we get to hear the true song of sports anymore. Then Trez Jackson came along-a great guy with a bright future who exudes his principles and character on a daily basis. "Thank God for people like him," the woman wrote in her email. "We are now big Stetson fans." Hks©©sQsb© f PM o fl® im, SftasfcsO*) com SteeouoSO© (^Eza2&§D«!^[^^ f £M« ®§® \M> £ffliSD KM) -0!»«r>t. -w. i lli©@3)ifl5©@fiftjifigDS33 ?(M°©l?G&©2®s>gi)S Ettl@B ©BjuCgEgg ©8S2EO ©MfeJOife ©SCDiI»S®gD©©®S®®ja ©ami teff&fe Ssmny t^wmm^®@msi®0 vm - © em mg&m m&> (k§© <m^