Dick Vitale Is A Nice Person

Thursday, September 10, 2009


Dick Vitale always seems to be in a great mood, and his work with the Jimmy V Foundation is amazing. Well recently, Vitale decided that he wanted to give more, and has decided to pay for the funeral of a cheerleader who was recently killed after a Friday night Football game in Florida. Via the Tampa Tribune....

ESPN commentator Dick Vitale spoke this morning with Raechelle James, the mother of Jazmine Thompson, the Bayshore High School cheerleader who was fatally shot Friday night.

Vitale said he has made arrangements with the family to help with funeral expenses. James recently lost her job and does not have insurance.

Daniel Floyd Williams, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder. After Bayshore's football game Friday, Thompson and three other girls were in a car when Williams approached them, asked for sex, walked away, waved a gun and fired, hitting Thompson, deputies said.

"I didn't know Jazmine. I just know what I read, and it tears my heart out," Vitale said. "There's no way there should be a funeral for that young girl this weekend. She did nothing wrong. She was minding her own business."

"It really hits home when this happens in your own community," Vitale said. "It boggles my mind how young people can get hold of guns and something like this happens. One senseless act and so many lives have been affected."

Thompson planned to attend college and become an attorney.

"From everything I've heard and read, this was a wonderful young girl with a bright future and she deserves to be remembered in the best possible way,'' Vitale said.
There's really nothing more to add to that. Everyone knows Vitale is an extremely emotional person, and to do something like this, just solidifies the fact that he's an amazing human being.

ESPN's Vitale to help with Bradenton teen's funeral expenses (Tampa Tribune)

Posted by Awful Announcing at 2:11 PM

2 Comments:

I've been pretty sick of his onair act for a very long time and haven't been shy about calling it tired and worn out.

That being said, I have had the pleasure to interact with Dick at charity functions and basketball games and will tell anyone who listens that he is a warm, genuine, passionate man enjoying life and using his fame/position/fortune for good things.

I may not like his broadcasts anymore, but I will always respect and look up to him as a human being.

Unknown said...
Sep 10, 2009, 3:56:00 PM  

STOCK DOWN - Daniel Floyd Williams

GMoney said...
Sep 10, 2009, 4:03:00 PM  

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