Mom Won’t Soon Forget College Football Star Eating Lunch With Her 6th Grader

Sometimes the world can be a lonely place, especially for a special needs child. Take the story of Bo Paske, a 6th-grade student at Montford Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida.

Most of the time, Paske, who has autism, eats lunch by himself. Recently, Florida State University receiver Travis Rudolph and some teammates were visiting the school, and Rudolph decided to sit and have lunch with Paske.

Someone at the school snapped a picture and sent it to Paske’s mom, Leah. Rudolph’s kindness and the fact that for one day she didn’t have to worry “if my sweet boy ate lunch alone,” moved her to tears. Read Leah’s full post below:

In a story posted on the Orlando Sentinel website, Rudolph said, “I asked if I could sit next to him, and he said ‘sure, why not?’” A video shared via the FSU Twitter account captured Rudolph’s reaction to learning that the boy was autistic, which is something he didn’t know when he sat down.

In the Sentinel story, FSU Head Coach Jimbo Fisher added,

Yet another reminder that kindness counts.