Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson thanks Bills fans for charity donations after injury
The #BillsMafia has donated $400K to a Louisville charity that he once supported
It’s time for some good news and Buffalo Bills fans, or the Bills Mafia as they’re better known, has provided it. After Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson suffered a concussion in the team’s 17-3 playoff loss to Buffalo last Saturday, the former Louisville standout was taken out of the game and didn’t return, effectively ending the Ravens’ season.
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The 24-year-old was certainly disappointed by the team’s playoff loss but the actions of Bills fans have likely made Jackson feel a little better. According to People.com, after a fan on Reddit dropped a few dollars on Blessings in a Backpack, a Louisville-based charity that provides food for needy elementary school kids on Jackson’s behalf, more Bills fans followed suit. Now the charity has received over $400K from 15,000 fans.
“It started around 11:30 last night, and our donation box just started flooding with donations from Bills fans for Lamar. It’s just been overwhelming — in the best possible way,” Nikki Grizzle of Blessings in a Backpack told ESPN.
In 2018, Jackson donated $25K to the organization which helps provide food over the weekend to elementary school children who might otherwise go without. COVID-19 has only made that need more acute.
Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, posted a thank you to the Bills Mafia via his Twitter account.
The Bills Mafia has shown similar generosity in the past. When their quarterback Josh Allen’s grandmother died in November, donations poured into Oishei Children’s Hospital, a cause Allen supports. Fans were encouraged to donate in increments of $17 to match Allen’s jersey number as they did with $8 for Jackson, who wears that number.
A million dollars was raised, leading the hospital to establish a Patricia Allen Fund named after Allen’s grandmother that will support the hospital’s pediatric critical care team. The west wing of the hospital’s 10th floor will also be renamed for her.
In 2018, Bills fans donated to then Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton’s charity after a Cincinnati win over the Ravens put the Bills in the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. Bills fans ultimately raised $415,000 for the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation.
The Bills meet the defending Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, on Sunday in the AFC championship to decide who will go on to the Super Bowl.
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