kindness
A backpack led one grad to help a former teammate home
Two strangers, one backpack. He looked up the name.
Jasper Steinmetz noticed the backpack first. Walking through a park in Austin, Texas, the recent Indiana University graduate spotted an IU athletic bag on a man who had been homeless for eight months. They shared an alma mater, so Steinmetz shook his hand and asked his name. It was Sampson James. On a hunch, Steinmetz googled it and found that the man with the red backpack had once been the Indiana Hoosiers' star running back. James lost his NFL prospects when his knee gave out, was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, left school, and ended up on the street. Steinmetz set up a GoFundMe and raised $20,000, much of it from former IU teammates. The money secured James a rental apartment, clothing and furniture. "He told me he went to IU as well. So I was like, wow, that's amazing, go Hoosiers," James told CBS News. He says he does not plan to let them down.
