A closer look: Why FSU receiver Travis Rudolph's good deed went viral
Around 4 o’clock Wednesday morning, Florida State deputy athletics director Karl Hicks woke from his sleep, picked up his cell phone and opened a browser.
He knew what news item he wanted to find. He was simply curious how many media outlets had picked it up.
A better question might have been which ones didn’t.
Hicks, who oversees FSU’s external relations, is partly responsible for helping shape the public image of Seminole Athletics. He oversees the school's sports information department, which sends out news releases and produces content for the team’s official website, and he also is a liaison to the media (in good times and bad).
So when a coworker showed Hicks a Facebook post from Leah Paske, a Tallahassee mother whose son was befriended at Montford Middle School on Tuesday by FSU wide receiver Travis Rudolph, Hicks knew this was a story that would have far greater impact than any news item the university could manufacture.
“It touches on so many thigs,” Hicks said. “And it touches everyone really close to home.”
By Wednesday morning, the article -- and accompanying photo of Rudolph and Paske’s son, Bo, sitting together at an empty lunch table -- had been picked up by every media outlet imaginable. From the Washington Post to Sports Illustrated. It was on the home page of CBS News and countless others.
But why this picture?
Why this story?
Hicks is quick to point out that all of FSU’s sports teams are actively involved in community relations. The players speak at public schools and they visit underprivileged youths virtually every week of the year.
“It’s part of their education,” Hicks said. “We want to make sure they realize how fortunate they are to have the opportunities that they have. And maybe they’ll have an opportunity to make an impact on some person’s life. We’re so well-positioned to do that.”
This day was different, though.
First, there was the act -- Rudolph seeing a child alone in the cafeteria and asking if he could sit with him. It was a scene relatable to so many.
“I talked to my wife about this,” Hicks said. “How many people do you know who either directly themselves through their own experience, or indirectly with their kids, haven’t gone through the anxiety of sitting alone somewhere?”
Then, there was the photo -- taken by a friend who sent it to Paske with the caption, "Travis Rudolph is eating lunch with your son." At the time, Paske and her son had no idea who Rudolph was or that he played for the Seminoles.
Said Hicks: “This wasn’t canned. This wasn’t contrived. It wasn’t something anyone put together … Travis sees a kid sitting by himself in a lunchroom and goes and sits with him. He didn’t know anything about his background.”
Then there was the Facebook post by Leah Paske, sharing her personal story about caring for a son with autism.
“The thing that really caught people’s attention was the mother’s post -- again, not prompted by anybody,” Hicks said. “Her post was just outstanding.”
Finally, there was the timing. In a day and age when Americans are arguing constantly about politics and race relations and inequality -- and what to do about all of it -- this simple, hopeful post was a shining light in what can seem like a sea of darkness.
“People reaching out to one another on a human level,” Hicks said. “The things that you do when no one’s looking. It’s just so good to see because our kids do that type of thing all the time -- as do kids on campuses across the country.
"It’s just a wonderful story, and I’m so happy to see it getting the attention that it is -- especially for the young man. Because maybe now he won’t sit by himself anymore in the cafeteria.”
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