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J.J. Watt’s Christmas Spirit

The star player’s relationship with three local orphaned Jewish children

by
Adam Chandler
December 24, 2012
J.J. Watt(Getty)
J.J. Watt(Getty)

J.J. Watt, star defensive player for the Houston Texans, is having nothing short of an MVP season. With a league-leading 20.5 sacks, a league-leading 36 tackles-for-loss, a league-leading 15 batted passes, and four forced fumbles, Watt–in just his second season–is a villain to offensive coordinators everywhere. But the 6’5″, 300-pound behemoth is also becoming a local hero for his efforts on and off the field.

Prior to his first season in Houston last year, Watt paid a visit to a Houston hospital to visit Aaron and Peter Berry, two of the three Berry children who were orphaned after their parents died in a car accident that summer. Both boys were also paralyzed in the accident. Over the past year and a half, Watt has become a fixture in the lives of the Berry children, texting with them daily, sneaking them out of school for a Texans practice, squiring them away to a Justin Bieber concert, and even saluting them on national television after making a sack.

ESPN put together a great video feature about Watt and the Berry children, who have not only become a major focus of the Jewish communities across Texas, but who have also captivated one of Texas’ biggest and newest stars.

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.