Bully problems? Eagles gotcha back…

highwayrobbery

This is an Eagles feel-good story too good to pass up:

DeSean Jackson, Todd Herremans and Jamaal Jackson of the Eagles showed up at ABC’s The View on Thursday to offer support for the little guy from Upper Darby, Pa., Nadin Khoury, who got hung on a fence by a bunch of his 13-year-old punk buddies… and pummeled while he was unwillingly being videotaped for You-Tube.  This was no set-up… Nadin was in a real bad situation, but “hung tough” (sorry), and came back with a vengeance to prosecute his douchebag “friends”… Kudos to DJax, Todd and Jamaal for reacting to the story, and sending a clear message that bullshit like this does not go down well in the NFL.

Rick Chandler of NBC first alerted me to the news Thursday morning that The View of all shows should be my first media destination on Thursday morning:

“I saw a few tweets this morning indicating how great today’s episode of The View was, and of course thought that someone was crank yankin’ me. Sure, Barbara Walters is hot, but come on. Then I saw this clip on the 700 Level, and all became clear. For one day, The View ruled all.”

“Nadin Khoury, a 13-year-old Delco, PA, boy, was bullied by seven classmates who notoriously videotaped the assault and put it on YouTube. His assailants were arrested, and Khoury has stepped up to speak out against school bullying. During his segment on The View, co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck broke in and said that someone was in the back room who had been wanting to meet him. So out on stage come Eagles players DeSean Jackson, Jamaal Jackson and Todd Herremans. Khoury began tearing up as soon as he saw the players, and the rest of us followed suit. Damn winter allergies… “

I’m telling you, it was something. Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age, but Djax, Todd and Jamaal blew me away with their genuine concern and emotion over the beat-down of this nice kid.

They took the stage, and greeted guest Nadin Khoury, 13, of Upper Darby, Pa., with an Eagles No. 10 Jackson-autographed jersey.  Jamaal Jackson presented a gift basket, and Todd Herremans offered Eagles tickets to a game of Khoury’s choice next season.

You can’t make this stuff up.

The segment began with the teen, Nadin Khoury, his mother, and stepfather speaking openly about the incident, which was first reported Monday night on WPVI Action News. Nadin was attacked by seven older teenagers, bullied, beaten, and hung from a fence by his clothing. It happened in Upper Darby back on January 11th.

The teen told “The View” why he thinks this all started:

“They were messing with me because I’m one of the smallest ones and, when we first moved to the area, they saw my mom was African and they made fun of my mom a lot,” Nadin said.  The young teen said he’s hoping that someone will step in next time something like this happens, and call the police. In this case, police said witnesses did nothing to help. The seven suspects, who attend the Alternative High School for Troubled Students, remain in police custody for psychiatric and risk evaluation.

Then, after talking about his difficult experiences, Khoury got the surprise of his life – DeSean Jackson, Todd Herremans and Jamaal Jackson came on stage to meet the young man!

DeSean Jackson even gave him the jersey off his back and autographed it for him. The Eagles players said they ‘had his back’ in case anything bad happened again.

“I feel there’re a lot of kids who get bullied and they’re scared to speak up, scared to tell their parents, scared because their peers will make fun, and it takes a brave young man to do that,” DeSean told WPVI Action News following an appearance at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

As for Nadin saying he was teased for being too small, Jackson says he can relate.

“They kept bullying him because of his size and how small he was and well, on the football field, people try to stop me from doing the great things I do because they think I’m so small,” DeSean said.

WPVI caught up with Nadin, who was still wearing DeSean’s jersey, after he got home on Thursday. He was still in a state of disbelief…  “I don’t know if it’s real or not!” he said. When he agreed to tell his story to The View, he had no idea that it would end with a meeting with the guys from the Eagles.

“When I saw DeSean Jackson, I started crying, because that’s my favorite athlete, my favorite football player,” Nadin said.

Nadin and his family are now settling into a new home after they moved away from where he was victimized. And while he was still stunned, Nadin certainly didn’t lose his sense of humor after his day with celebrities.

“Still waiting on a call from Oprah,” he said.

Okay, now you can throw that “Philadelphia Freedom” disc on the stereo one more time for good measure. Damn, I needed a feel-good story like this.
What happened to that young fellow was absolutely disgusting. The fact that nobody bothered to help is even more vile. I feel for him and I feel for them. I pray that these hateful modern-day Nephilim get justice to the proper degree of their crimes….maybe they’ll wake up and get better. I know I could never walk away from a situation like this. I hope those people that ignored what was happening are really happy with themselves. How hard is it to dial 911?

I applaud DeSean, Todd and Jamaal for making the effort, taking the time and behaving in a manner reflective of  kind and decent human beings. Their simple act of stepping up and voicing their views against senseless bullying can impact thousands of children nationwide and serve as a catalyst for change. The Eagles have in effect challenged the community to create a culture of kindness and negate the power of bullying. That’s real man-talk, my friends.  The true alpha male is a protector, not a macho asshole bully. NFL guys know this. And the Eagles who showed up on The View to prove that point really made my day.

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