MUNICH – The scenes played out at the Australian Gold State’s Seabus Super Stadium on Saturday were heart-wrenching.
When the players took the field before a National Rugby League match between the Indigenous All-Stars and the New Zealand Māori Kiwi All-Stars, they had a very special guest: Quaden Bayles.
The nine-year-old Australian student captured the hearts of millions. Quaden’s mother posted a video of a crying boy who is constantly harassed by his classmates. On his way home from school, Quaden even said: “Give me a knife, I want to kill myself”.
Quaden is a tribal boy who is handicapped since he was born. The nine-year-old had to deal with racism and discrimination for the rest of his life.
The poor boy’s video went viral and reached and softened the hearts of even the toughest in National Rugby League. He not only invited the little quads to play, but also let the little boy run across the field with the ball in his hands to the applause of thousands and thousands of rugby fans. Then he could watch the game from the edge of the field.
An experience that nine-year-old Quaden certainly won’t soon forget.
Apart from rugby players, many other Australian celebrities encouraged the boy. Hollywood star Hugh Jackman tweeted (“X-Men”, “Wolverine”): “Quaden – you’ve got a friend in me”
By the way, the Māori All Stars won the game with 30:16, which may have been more of a side note on this particular day.
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