Brendan Fevola broke down in tears on Thursday after hearing how a boy was heartbreakingly bullied following the tragic death of his father.
The former AFL star, 43, was overcome with emotion when he heard young boy Ben’s struggles from his devastated mother Sarah on The Fox radio show, Fifi, Fev & Nick.
Sarah, who is from Melbourne, revealed her son Ben is struggling with bullying at school following his father’s tragic death from cancer.
She said his classmates cruelly used his father’s death to tease him, with the heartbreaking story bringing Brendan to tears.
‘Ben goes to school every day and looks forward to playing basketball with his friends at lunchtime. But recently, this past year, he was bullied by some other kids. They’re actually bullying him because his father is dying,” Sarah explained.
“They actually tease him – or sledge, in a sense – about his father. Like, ‘Oh, at least I have a dad,’ or ‘I’m going home, and my dad will be there today.’
A visibly emotional Fevola couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“I’m a little choked up here,” he said.
Brendan Fevola is pictured being overcome with emotion when he heard the story of a boy who was bullied over his father’s death from cancer
The AFL legend couldn’t believe what he heard when the boy’s mother revealed the words her son’s classmates used to sledge him
‘That might be the worst thing you can say to a child. To bully a child who lost his father to cancer… I don’t know what I would do as a parent.
“The poor kid has to deal with it anyway, and he knows he doesn’t have a father, but to remind the kids that he plays basketball… I don’t know what I would have done if I was a kid . ‘
The panel then invited Ben to be part of their Underdogs initiative, which sees children who have been left out of sport due to bullying and health issues become part of Aussie Rules and basketball teams.
The Underdogs football team played a preview for the clash between Carlton and Port Adelaide at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium in July, with an Underdogs basketball team due to play at half-time of the Sydney Kings versus Melbourne United National Basketball League match in the John Cain Arena on Thursday night.
“We would like to give Ben a wonderful, wonderful memory of being part of our Underdogs. Is this something Ben would like to do?’ Fifi asked.
‘Oh, certainly! He loves basketball, it’s his big outlet,” Sarah replied.
Fevola recently revealed that a brutal injury sent him to A&E after playing in his Parkfooty team’s grand final in September.
The former Carlton and Brisbane forward laced up the boots in the Diamond Valley 35s decider, scoring five goals in his side’s dominant 70-point win over Williamstown.
The radio show Fifi, Fev and Nick (presenters pictured) invited the boy to be part of their Underdogs basketball team, featuring children who have missed the sport due to bullying.
However, the victory took its toll, with Fevola bleeding from an open wound following surgery to remove a birthmark from his back.
‘It was a bad one. They have it all. I had eight stitches in my back and the doctor told me not to exercise.
‘I didn’t tell her I was playing in the grand final on Sunday, so I thought I could run the gauntlet. And yes, my back was a bit sore during the entire match.
“I go, oh, I’m going to take a quick shower, so I get all my football stuff out of the bag and I go, oh God, my back hurts a little!” I took off my sweater and on my ‘5’ the top half of the 5 was just all blood. I go, oh, is this (blood)?
‘I got in the shower and tore it off… I looked in the mirror and there was a huge, huge hole in my back.
“I say, ‘ARGH! I have a hole in my back,’ and they (Fev’s family) say, ‘Don’t take a shower, you need to go to the emergency room right away, it’s going to be infected,’ and I’m thinking, ‘Can I just wait until my Uber Eats comes because I’m hungry”…. Alex says, “Go to emergency! It’s open… you can’t have (your back) open.”