On Thursday, Houston Texans All-Star defensive end J.J. Watt, who was named the AP Defensive Player of the Year in three of his first five seasons, showed once again that he is not just an All-Star on the field but also off it, offering to send an entire unit of soldiers fighting in Afghanistan pairs of his signature new shoes launching Thursday at midnight.
Watt’s innate generosity, which he has demonstrated amply before, was triggered when he issued this tweet:
Less than an hour later, he got this response:
When Watt saw the soldier’s response, he answered:
Then, one minute later, he got a suggestion from a fan who was watching the communication:
All of five minutes later, Watt gave a typical response:
Watt’s generosity elicited a lot of love on Twitter:
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After Hurricane Harvey destroyed much of Houston, Watt helped raise $37 million for relief and recovery efforts for the Houston area. He started the ball rolling by donating $100,000 of his own money. His Justin J. Watt Foundation has raised over $1 million for after-school opportunities for children.