Weeks after a hit involving a Hutto High School football player went viral, that player is showing a little sportsman-like conduct toward the injured McCallum High School player.
In a game between the Hutto Hippos and the McCallum Knights on Nov. 15, Hutto wide receiver DJ Baptist blocked Elijah Griffin, knocking him to the ground.
On Monday, Dec. 3, Baptist and the rest of his team signed a Hutto #3 jersey, Griffin's number, and gave it to him.
The two players then hugged it out. KVUE's Christy Millweard caught the moment on camera.
Hutto coach Brad LaPlante said when he and the rest of the team learned about the injury, "our kids took that to heart."
"That could be anybody on our team, that could be my kid someday," LaPlante said. "It was only right to pay respect to Elijah."
The move did not go unnoticed.
"It feels good to know that everybody in their locker room is just like our locker room and everybody else, they want to make sure I'm OK," Griffin told KVUE. "So it feels good to have that support system in both coaching staffs in both of the schools."
"It's super classy by him and his staff, his players, you know, to come by and do that, you know, it just kind of shows you that it's bigger than the game,” said McCallum head coach Tom Gammerdinger.
Griffin was injured in the play, but he was able to return to school the next day. In fact, Griffin said it may have been a blessing in disguise. The hit broke one of his ribs, and doctors said they may have found cancer in his arm. Doctors have to do more tests to be sure.
Griffin said he hopes he learns the results at his next appointment.
He said this gesture is something he'll remember.
"Football -- it's a hard sport, but at the end of the day, it's not just football. It's more than that -- it's the relationships, between the teams and stuff," Griffin said. "Looking at this, it just shows me that everybody has a great relationship, and it goes further than football."
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