JJ Watt helps pays for grandfather's funeral services after fan tried to sell shoes to cover costs
A Texas woman who tried selling her JJ Watt sneakers to raise money for her grandfather's funeral service costs got some unexpected help from the Arizona Cardinals defensive end.
Jennifer Simpson lost her grandfather a day after Father's Day and her family had been struggling for weeks to come up with the money to put him to rest. To gather funds, Simpson tweeted that she was putting a women's edition of the Reebok JJ Watt shoes up for sale for $30.
"They are great shoes, im only selling because we are raising money for my grandpas funeral," she wrote Wednesday, adding that she was also selling Houston Texans jersey of Watt.
Twenty minutes later, the former Texans star responded with some good news.
Don’t sell your shoes and jersey, we’ll help with the funeral.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 21, 2022
I’m sorry for your loss.
🙏🏼 https://t.co/gMttmVGZCL
According to KHOU, Watt quickly sent the money over PayPal. The family told the station that Watt "lifted a burden off of us," and they also expressed gratitude to the hundreds of people that have helped them.
UNEXPECTED KINDNESS: An NFL fan tried to sell JJ Watt merchandise on Twitter to raise money for her grandfather’s funeral — but the football superstar stepped up to cover costs instead. https://t.co/yqShunyPa6 pic.twitter.com/TaqFHauwX6
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) July 22, 2022
"These people don't know us or our story," Simpson said. "They don't know what we've been going through this last month. It reminds me there is good in the world."
It's not the first time Watt's generosity has been on display. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, he donated $100,000 and set up an online fundraiser to help victims, which eventually brought in nearly $42 million.