Tiger Woods recently offered his support to a bullied boy by writing him a heartfelt letter.
The boy, named Dillon, who suffers from a stutter when he speaks, overcame his anxieties about his speech impediment and decided to join the football team, only to quit later after he was severely bullied by his fellow team members. At one point, he even attempted to take his own life.
Dillon’s mother reached out to LPGA Tour player Sophie Gustafson, who also suffers from a stutter, telling her about Dillon’s story and asking for her help to get it out to a wider audience.
“On the week of April 16th, he had a bad week, he had been teased about his stuttering. That evening, he attempted suicide. He yelled downstairs ‘Good bye, I love you.’ Me and my husband immediately ran upstairs, his bedroom door was locked, we busted down the door and he was sitting on the window and was getting ready to jump. We were able to grab him and keep him from going head first onto the concrete below.
He continues to love to watch golf and is still a fan of Tiger. Is there anyway we could get his story to Tiger and see if he could help find something encouraging for [him] to look forward to?”
In April, Gustafson shared Dillon’s story with Golf Digest ‘s Ron Sirak, who called on other golfers to help combat bullying.
“I’m very proud of Sophie, and very grateful that she shared this story with me. Golf cannot change the world, but golfers can,” Sirak wrote , according to Fox Sports. “Bullying is a serious problem. Join Sophie and me in shouting with one united, clear voice that we will not tolerate our children being treated that way. Let’s give this boy, and millions like him, something to look forward to.”
As the Inquisitr previously reported , Gustafson and Sirak succeeded and got word out to Tiger Woods, who also overcame a stutter when he was a child. Feeling a need to do something to help Dillon, Tiger took the opportunity to write him a letter. While the contents of the letter have not been revealed yet, Sophie said the letter made Dillon very happy and he has it hanging on his wall.
Thanks so much @TigerWoods for sending my friend Dillon a letter. He got so happy! It’s being framed and hanged. #class
— Sophie Gustafson (@SophieGustafson) May 10, 2015
[Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images]