MILWAUKEE — Leroy Butler is a former NFL player. He spent his entire 12-year career as a safety for the Green Bay Packers. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
TMJ4's Andrea Williams talked to Leroy about everything from bullying to cooking. However, this is his first time discussing his namesake.
"I have six kids, and those are like all girls to have one favorite, my son."
Little Leroy loves sports, particularly football.
"Before the pandemic, he played football. I didn't know if he would like it," said Butler. Like his Dad, he defies the odds.
"You grew up having the braces on your feet, on your legs. You were told you weren't going to run, or walk. You were in a wheelchair," stated Williams. "You progress to become an NFL Hall of Famer, so you know better than anybody that obstacles are there to you know, be jumped over, right?"
"Yes!" responded Butler.
Little Leroy, 12, was diagnosed with autism at age 4. He was non-verbal, but a special teacher came into his life and changed all that.
"I met a true angel, Miss Julia Witherspoon," said Butler.
Coincidentally, Wiliams met Julia Witherspoon over 20 years ago when she was a Racine Police Officer and started the Cop -n- Kids Reading Center.
So it wasn't a surprise, because she's amazing with kids of all ages and has been recognized nationally for it. Before retirement, Julia would ride around in her squad car and hand out books to the kids on her beat.
"She potty trained him, taught him how to read, taught him discipline," said Butler.
Leroy and his wife Genesis say they don't know where they'd be without Ms. Julia and Little Leroy's current teachers.
"Without teachers, there's no LeRoy Butler. Without teachers, special needs teachers, and schools, there's no Leroy Butler the fourth," said Butler.
"Touches me deeply, it touches my heart, it really warms my heart. I'm trying not to cry," Witherspoon said. "I deliberately try hard to see him be successful, because I know it's locked in there."
Witherspoon says Little Leroy stood out.
"How smart he was, non-verbally. He would do things without talking," said Witherspoon.
Fast forward to today, he's not only talking, but like his Dad he's playing sports, even winning medals in cross country.
"He won a medal the first time. He did it on his own," said Witherspoon.
Little Leroy feels the love of parents teachers and his teammates.
" I just love them (his teammates) because they're not doing it because he's autistic. They're doing it because it's the right thing to do," said Butler. "I would not be sitting here if it wasn't for George Koonce, Gilbert Brown, Shawn Jones, and Antonio Freeman. I love my teammates, so I always taught him to love your teammates."
"You see lots of traits of winning. Not in the sense of a race or a game but winning on a personal level," said Williams.
"I see other grown people, autistic, they work. They get married, just like everybody else," said Butler. "My grandmother said, God made everybody good at something, but you got to figure out what it is, but he made you good at something. He's going to be great at being there for people!"
For more information about autism, click here.
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