Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt plans to cover the costs of the funerals of the victims of Friday’s mass shooting at Santa Fe High School which left 10 dead and more than a dozen wounded, ESPN reported.
The sports network spoke with Watt’s team after Friday’s massacre. After the news broke, Watt — who famously raised millions for Houston’s hurricane relief efforts — tweeted, “Absolutely horrific.”
Word spread shortly thereafter that the gridiron star had offered to pay for all 10 funerals. Daytime TV host Ellen DeGeneres and NFL writer John McClain, among others, took to Twitter to express their gratitude to and admiration for Watt.
After Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area and killed dozens, Watt started a fundraiser that went viral, and brought in $37 million.
This month, the J.J. Watt Charitable Foundation also gave $10,000 to a middle school in Baytown, Texas, to buy athletic equipment. As the NFL star wrote on Twitter earlier this spring, “If you have the power to make someone happy, do it. The world needs more of that.”
In February, Watt was named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.
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