Tiger Woods does not enjoy the best of public personas at times, but he has found a touching way of showing kindness to a young teenager affected by bullying.
Very often sports stars’ best work is done behind the scenes without much fanfare, and so it was when Woods responded to a public plea for help for a teen bullied by his peers.
Former LPGA player Sophie Gustafson has battled a stuttering problem for almost her entire career and also serves as a mentor to young people dealing with the issue.
In mentoring a student named Dillon, Gustafson realised that bullying was affecting the boy very badly and so looked for outside help.
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Dillon joined his school’s football team only to be driven out of the squad by fellow players mocking his stutter, reportedly driving him to attempt suicide.
Gustafson reached out to Golf Digest’s Ron Sirak for help, referencing emails from Dillon’s mum about the situation, and Sirak said he would reach out to Woods.
Woods quickly responded, writing an encouraging letter to Dillon to provide him with support – something which his mum acknowledged on social media.
“Thanks so much Tiger Woods for sending my friend Dillon a letter,” wrote Gustafson in response.
“He got so happy! It’s being framed and hanged. #class.”
Dillon was quoted by the Golf Digest as responding to Tiger’s letter, saying: “On Saturday, I got a letter from Tiger! He told me that he used to stutter too. We are going to frame the letter.
“We have never seen a golf tournament in person, only on TV. I told my mom that when my leg gets better (he fractured his leg in his suicide attempt) I think that would be a fun thing to do.”