Earlier this week, we wrote about the death of longtime ESPN and Chicago NFL reporter Jeff Dickerson.
That was an incredible loss, as the outpouring of support and sadness from the people who knew and worked with Dickerson demonstrated. But what made the news even harder to take was the fact that Dickerson’s wife had also died of cancer a few years prior, meaning their young son Parker had now lost both his parents.
In the days since, support for a GoFundMe page set up by family members went viral, with athletes, teams, charitable foundations, people in media, and plenty of other people rallied to the cause, easily eclipsing the initial $100,000 goal.
Today, that fundraising hit a major milestone:
Well done, Bears and NFL Twitter. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/L5zZHMJ4TM
— Kevin Kaduk (@KevinKaduk) December 31, 2021
There are obvious limits to how feel-good this story can be. And money isn’t everything. But at the same time, reasonable people can mourn the loss of a good man and father while also taking note of how awesome it’s been to see this kind of support from the sports community and community at large.
That is absolutely worth highlighting and celebrating. As of this writing, the total has already gone up to $1,006,800. No reason it can’t keep climbing from here.
[GoFundMe]
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.