76°
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
7 Day Forecast
Follow our weather team on social media

14-year-old Saints fan with chronic illness gets surprise on GMA

Related Story

One 14-year-old Saints fan battling a chronic illness got the surprise of a lifetime on "Good Morning America" Tuesday morning.

Coach Sean Payton offered 14-year-old Jarrius Robertson a contract to become an honorary New Orleans Saint.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Jarrius shouted as he signed the contract.

Jarrius has battled a chronic liver disease, called biliary atresia, since he was born. The illness has affected his growth and he is currently on a waiting list for a liver transplant. Jarrius had a liver transplant when he was just a year old that left him in a coma for a year. Since then, he has been in and out of hospitals and has had 13 surgeries.

However, the Saints keep the cheery 14-year-old positive. He first met some of the Saints players a year ago while he was at Ochsner Children's Hospital where he is known as "the mayor" for his positive spirit. He immediately gave the players constructive criticism to help them on game days.

Since the visit, Jarrius has made a lasting impression on the players and they invited him to their practice to meet the team.

"Jarrius has been to about four or five practices and every time he comes out I get some type of coaching point," quarterback Drew Brees said. "He even sent me a selfie video there from New York telling us that we need to quit making these games so close."

"He's such an inspirational young man," Brees said. "His strength, his attitude, and he's welcome out here anytime. We love him."

Now, with Jarrius a part of the team, he was already given a task by Coach Payton alongside Brees and defensive player Cameron Jordan while on 'Good Morning America.'

"Jarrius, you and your father are coming with us, the Saints, this weekend to Kansas City, and you are going to be our social media correspondent. Heck, we're going to put you in charge of all the media," Payton said.

Watch here:

Related Images

News

Desktop News

Click to open Continuous News in a sidebar that updates in real-time.
Radar
7 Days