'Got Your Back!': New York Yankees Respond To 10-Year-Old Girl's Emotional Appeal To Stop Bullying
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A Pennsylvania girl's emotional plea to stop bullying has caught the attention of the New York Yankees.
Jenn Slater posted a video to her Facebook page that shows her daughter Cassidy, 10, describing how she has been routinely bullied by a group of kids at her elementary school in Scranton.
In the video, Cassidy held up a series of pages that tell her story. The fourth grader says she has been bullied since the first grade. She says she is the target of a group of kids who "hit me, kicked me, pulled my hair, pushed me, stepped on me, spit on me."
"They threaten to kill me and they tell me to kill myself," Cassidy wrote. "I feel so alone. I feel like I have no one. It hurts."
In the two weeks since it was released, the video went viral, CBS2's Steve Overmyer reported.
The video caught the attention of the New York Yankees, who posted a response on Facebook and Twitter.
The video starts with CC Sabathia holding up a note.
He holds up notes saying the Yankees have a message for her: "My teammates and I wanted you to know that we care about you."
One by one, other Yankee players hold up notes: "We know sharing your story must have been difficult. But you showed courage and strength, and inspired us to reach out to you. We may be older than you, we may be taller than you, but we want you to know we look up to you. You are not alone! Count the New York Yankees among your friends!"
The team said they are saving a seat for Cassidy at their lunch table in the clubhouse, and then they held signs saying they've "got your back."
The Yankees aren't the only high-profile people who've noticed Cassidy. Hugh Jackman also posted a message of support.
"I want you to know you're loved, special and smart. You're strong, funny and beautiful both inside and out," Jackman posted. "BULLYING IS NOT OK."
Cassidy said the Scranton school district has done very little, Overmyer reported.
"They changed my recess. So now I'm not in recess with the kids, I'm just in class with them," Cassidy said. "The bullying is still going on, it's just now in class. If the teacher calls on me, and I say a wrong answer, they say I'm dumb, stuff like that... The teacher just ignores it."
Cassidy's mother Jenn told Overmyer they've had a meeting with the superintendent on two occasions and it seems the school district's main concern is bad publicity and that they haven't punished the students who bullied her daughter. The school district has not responded to Overmyer's request for a statement.
Cassidy is looking forward to meeting the Yankees and that they're grateful for the outpouring of support.
