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RGIII Takes Time Out to Help

RGIII makes the effort to impact the lives of several sick children this week.

By Scott Jennings

Word leaked out last night that Robert Griffin III was at Centreville High School(h/t @_JakeRussell) to help a student make a prom request.  Juwaan Espinal has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, and is a huge RGIII fan and his friends knew it.  His friend Morgan Assel recruited Griffin to help her ask Espinol to their prom this year.  She was able to set it up by first contacting Olympic fencer Nzingha Prescod on instagram, who was able to get in touch with RGIII.  She came out holding a sign that read, "I know I'm not as cool as RGIII, but will you go to prom with me?" with RGIII walking behind her.

Seventeen-year-old Juwaan Espinal, despite being non-verbal due to cerebral palsy, has a large circle of friends. And one of them did something extraordinary – to make him feel ordinary.

The people hiding behind this banner lured Juwaan to the game for a remarkable surprise. It reads: "I know I’m not as cool as RGIII, but will you go to the prom with me?"

Then, out popped the Washington Redskins’ star quarterback, who just happens to be Juwaan’s favorite player; the athlete came to help classmate Morgan Assel ask her friend the big question.

Earlier this week, RGIII posted a story about a young boy, Ne'Vaeh Littleton, whose family he had been in contact with Griffin about meeting him.  Unfortunately Ne'Vaeh passed away before he could meet RGIII at practice this week, but Griffin made a promise to the boys family to wear a wristband that was given to him all season, and to dedicate the first TD of the season to him.  As a parent of a child who was recently diagnosed with, and treated for a rare brain disorder, this kind of story hits close to home for me.  I will always appreciate anyone that takes time to work with sick children through organizations like Make-A-Wish, or on their own time.

When you see Robert Griffin III wearing a gray wristband this season, understand that there's an important meaning behind it. For Griffin it will be a subtle and constant gesture to the family of Ne'Vaeh Littleton, an 8-year-old boy who died of brain cancer last Friday, only a few days before he was supposed to go to a Redskins practice and meet the quarterback.
Ne'Vaeh suffered from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, a rare type of brain cancer. He got a brush with some of his sports heroes last October when he was the courtside guest of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder for a game, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Had some special guests at practice today! Check it out... On April 22, 2013, Ne'Vaeh, an eight year old-high energy little boy, had his world turned upside down. Ne'Vaeh was diagnosed with a very rare brain cancer called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) and soon found out he was in Stage 4 of it. Incurable. Instead of shutting down, this young gift from God and his family continued to live life to the fullest and raise awareness for DIPG. Last Week I was told that Ne'Vaeh was a huge Redskins fan and I was his favorite player. So we invited him to come check out practice and meet everybody. That practice was today.... I received a call yesterday informing me that Ne'Vaeh had been called up to heaven on Friday... Ne'Vaeh's family came to practice in his honor and as I begin to express my sadness for his passing I was stopped. They told me he was no longer suffering and in a better place. They gave me the band you see at the bottom of this picture and I made a promise. I promise you Ne'Vaeh that I will wear this band all season and dedicate our first touchdown in your honor.#WalkingByFaithWithNeVaeh

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