After the devastating shooting at Michigan State University that saw three students killed and five others wounded, GoFundMe pages and offers of condolences have poured in from all walks of life nationwide. NBA star James Harden became the latest to contribute after he recently reached out to 20-year-old John Hao, one of the surviving victims, after reading about him and learning that he is a huge fan of his.
As previously reported by REVOLT, on Jan. 13, Anthony McRae, 43, walked onto the Michigan State University campus and opened fire in two buildings. Local police received reports around 8:15 p.m. that shots were fired in Berkey Hall, an academic building where classes were in session. Nearly 15 minutes later, the university sent a message to its students and staff, informing them to “run, hide, fight.” Shortly after, shots erupted from another building that occupied a dining hall. When authorities arrived on the scene and located McRae, he turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.
First responders transported Hao and other students who were injured to the hospital. As a result of his injuries, Hao was paralyzed from the chest down. On Thursday (Feb. 23) night, Harden spoke with sports reporters about wanting to offer assistance to Hao as soon as possible.
“There’s things like that, where you sit back and think about just real life and things bigger than basketball,” Harden said. “I heard that he was a fan of mine, so I wanted to get up on that ASAP and just see what I could do, anything I could do.”
Harden stayed true to his word and hopped on a FaceTime call with Hao afterward to encourage him, sending him a pair of game-worn sneakers and donating to his GoFundMe page.
“I love when you’re smiling,” Harden said on the call. “I love when you’re smiling, all right? I’m with you. I know it’s tough right now, but you have to stay physically strong, you know what I mean? You just got to think positive things and keep pushing and fighting. I got you. I got some guys for you, too. I got some things coming your way, hopefully, give you some encouragement and make you smile a little bit, you know what I mean? Let me know if you need anything else.”
Respect to James Harden 🙏🏽❤️
(via @malika_andrews) pic.twitter.com/mYYgh3Ck1r
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) February 23, 2023
Harden revealed that some of his team members have also visited Hao at Sparrow Hospital, where he remains.