Travis Rudolph gives his jersey to lunch buddy

Earlier this week, Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph made a new friend at Montford Middle school. Rudolph made headlines during a recent players visit to the school when he made a simple gesture of eating lunch with a boy sitting alone. Bo Paske, the boy sitting alone,  has autism and has had issues in the past with eating alone, but he couldn’t stop smiling when his new friend (and star football player) joined him for a slice of pizza.  

At the time, Rudolph didn’t expect the kind of reaction his small gesture would going create. A photo of the two eating lunch went viral, as did a post from the boy’s mom. She stated that her son has autism and that many of the students don’t understand her son, nor do they take the time to find out.

Rudolph didn’t notice Bo’s autism, and Bo didn’t even notice that Rudolph was an FSU player. But nonetheless, the two shared a kind, casual conversation with no hidden agendas or judgements.

After realizing the impact that their lunch had, Rudolph wanted to give Bo a personalized gift. The wide receiver surprised Bo during an interview with ESPN with a personalized FSU jersey with Rudolph’s number and Bo’s name on it. He also gave Bo and his mom tickets to an FSU game.

During an interview with ESPN, Rudolph reiterated that his act was simply about a young boy sitting alone, no matter that obstacles we are all going through. He wanted to make an example that everybody has the chance to be great.