Football fan raises big money for children's hospital
Carson King goes viral for 'Gameday' poster, pledges to donate money to local children's hospital.
After raising over a million dollars for charity, Carson King is apologizing for tweets he allegedly posted in 2012.
King's story previously made headlines after the Iowa resident initially raised thousands of dollars by holding up a sign asking for beer money on ESPN’s “GameDay.” King’s story gained attention, especially after he pledged to donate the money to a nearby children’s hospital.
But then posts from King’s Twitter account were uncovered that included racist jokes, the Des Moines Register reported. The tweets, which have since been deleted, were reportedly posted in 2012, when King was 16.
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In a statement obtained by MarketWatch, a spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch said, “Carson King had multiple social media posts that do not align with our values as a brand or as a company and we will have no further association with him. We are honoring our commitment by donating more than $350,000 to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.”
Aside from matching King’s donation, Anheuser-Busch had previously pledged to send King a year’s supply of beer with his face printed on the cans. It seems that this will no longer be happening.
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King posted a message on his Twitter page explaining and apologizing for the since-deleted tweets. After recapping the story-so-far (in which he claims to have raised $1.14 million for the Stead Family’s Children’s Hospital in Iowa City), he explained how social media “has the power to bring people together for a common good,” but can “make your life very public.”
His post continues, “…that is why I wanted to share you that eight years ago when I was a sophomore in high school, I made some social media posts with my friends that quoted and referenced the show Tosh.0. One of those posts was brought to my attention by a member of the media today. I had no recollection of it. In re-reading it today, eight years later, I see it was an attempt at humor that was offensive and hurtful.”
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He continued, “I am embarrassed and stunned to reflect on what I thought was funny when I was 16-years-old. I want to sincerely apologize.”
The post concludes, “I am so very thankful for the generosity of the thousands of people who have donated to our fundraising push for the Stead Family Children’s Hospital.”
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