During a week in which the Washington Redskins staged their latest PR blunder with a Twitter campaign intended to rally fans against changing the team's name, the franchise had the good fortune that Robert Griffin III provided some uplifting counter-programming.
Griffin helped two local students invite a classmate to prom, and on the second occasion, the quarterback showed up at the school, Centreville High in Virginia, to do the honors in person.
Morgan Assel wanted to ask her classmate Juwaan Espinal, who has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and is non-verbal. According to WJLA, Assel connected with Griffin through Instagram to give her a hand.
At the school's lacrosse game, Griffin and Assel approached Espinal while hidden behind a sign that read:
Then Griffin and Assel emerged with a smaller sign that completed the question:
The emotional story behind this pic of #Redskins @RGIII helping a #Centreville teen ask a friend to prom @ABC7News 11 pic.twitter.com/z5C8LoRscZ
— Jay Korff (@ABC7Jay) May 30, 2014
They didn't have to ask Espinal twice.
Best prom date ever thanks to the best athlete ever. Brought tears to my eyes. Thank you SO much. God bless you!❤️ pic.twitter.com/qRtHXrHXfQ
— Morgan Assel (@morganassel) May 30, 2014
Here's the full report from WJLA in Washington: (Mobile users, please click link.)
#Redskins QB @RGIII helps Juwaan Espinal go to prom. The powerful story behind this selfie @ABC7News at 11. @VBagate pic.twitter.com/uZxfPzZVO4
— Jay Korff (@ABC7Jay) May 30, 2014
