Atlanta’s dunking machine Josh Smith went to McEachern High School, an Atlanta area and Georgia high school sports powerhouse.
That’s where Rajaan Bennett went, a running back recruited by a number of schools but a kid with a 3.8 GPA who wanted a good education and committed to Vanderbilt. Last summer, Smith met Bennett and his family and came away impressed.
So Smith was hit hard -- as was much of Atlanta -- when Bennett was murdered several weeks ago by his mother’s ex-boyfriend.
So Smith is making a very big gesture to help -- he is paying the Bennett’s living expenses for the next six months.
Smith said he was “very impressed with him as a person, student and athlete. I can’t imagine what this family is going through, but hopefully this will give them one less thing to worry about as they try to cope with this terrible tragedy.”
It is a generous offer from Smith. The kind of thing he should be lauded for, but more importantly the kind of example we should all try to follow.