It was one of the most touching moments we'd seen this baseball season. Matt Kemp, the Los Angeles Dodgers star, signing an autograph after a game for a sick fan, then giving the fan, 19-year-old Joshua Jones, his hat, jersey and cleats. Even if you weren't a Dodgers fan — even if you hated the Dodgers — it was hard to not smile at that moment.Always a class act, Kemp turned the tables on Jones' awe of him.
Sadly, we have an update to the story: Jones, who had been battling terminal brain cancer, has died, his aunt tells Yahoo! Sports. Jones' best friend Tommy Schultz, who filmed and uploaded the video above, confirmed the death.
Laelah Quintor, his aunt on his mother's side, tells us Jones died Tuesday night after his health had declined over the past few weeks. The moments he shared with Kemp and the Dodgers, she says, "definitely made a difference for Joshua."
Kemp, meanwhile, was saddened to hear about Jones' death, but said — through his agent, Dave Stewart — that he was grateful to have met and spent time with Jones.
"He has given me a new perspective on the things that are really important in life," Kemp said.
RIP Joshua. #TrueBlue
3 comments:
Sad news. As Lasorda would say, he's gone to meet the Big Dodger in the sky.
This story breaks my heart, reading about this kid's battle with a terminal illness.
It also warms my heart to see Kemp open up his world to this kid, and then later put things in perspective about what really matters in life.
Exactly, my Dust brother.
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