Ezekiel Elliott has offered to pay for the funeral services of a 14-year-old high schooler who was killed recently, and the tragedy is one that hit home for the Dallas Cowboys star.
Jaylon McKenzie, an eighth-grader who was featured in a recent Sports Illustrated Future Issue and aspired to play in the NFL, was shot and killed by a stray bullet while leaving a party in St. Louis earlier this month. Elliott, who grew up in St. Louis, said he knew right away that he had to do something to help.
“Him being a guy from the St. Louis area and me growing up there, I can only imagine what his family is going through and he had such a bright future,” Elliott told Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Wednesday. “When I first heard read the story the first thing I did was a call my Little League football coach and ask him if he knew the family and if he could reach out to them for me. I am just glad I can help the family in any way I can.”
Elliott and his family are contributing more than just money, as his mother Dawn is expected to represent the McKenzie family at the funeral on Saturday.
Elliott has been making an effort to have a positive impact on the community this offseason, and we saw another example of that with the way he comforted a fan who was hit by a puck at a Dallas Stars game. It’s always nice to see pro athletes putting their resources to good use.
