Boy Bullied For Irish Dancing Meets NFL Player Who Practices Irish Dancing For Football

October 28, 2017

A 12-year-old boy who was bullied in school for taking Irish dance lessons is more confident than ever after he met an NFL player who trains in Irish dancing for football.

Carl Tubbs, a 7th-grade student who has been taking Irish dance lessons for four years, met Baltimore Ravens running back Alex Collins on Oct. 22 when the Ravens played an away game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Collins reached out to Carl, who lives in Des Moines, after seeing a tweet from the boy's mom asking for words of encouragement for her son.

A few days after hearing back from Collins, Joanne saw that the Ravens were playing within driving distance of the family's home, in Minneapolis, on Oct. 22.

She bought tickets to the game and then heard from the Ravens and Collins's agent, who offered Carl a chance to meet his new NFL hero.

Collins met with Carl before and after the game. He also brought him and his family footballs signed by the entire Ravens team.

Carl, who also plays baseball, was introduced to Irish dancing by his older sister. He performs in competitions and often practices during recess at school, which he said led to bullying from other students.

Carl said a few of the kids who taunted him have apologized after learning of his meeting with Collins.

Asked what was the best advice he received from Collins, Carl replied, "Just keep on moving forward and they'll learn that picking on someone is not okay and eventually it will get better."

The secret to quick feet? Irish dance. #lordoftheTDdance #nfldraft http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/04/26/themmqb-nfl-draft-alex-collins-arkansas-irish-dance @bryanne.g

A post shared by Alex Collins (@budda03) on Apr 26, 2016 at 9:06am PDT