Bullied at school for his dwarfism, 9-year-old Quaden Bayles sobs uncontrollably in the back of his mother’s car — saying to the camera: “Give me a knife, I want to kill myself.
“His mother, Yarraka Bayles, from the Australian state of Queensland, posted the heartbreaking Facebook Live video this week to raise awareness of the impact of bullying.
In the video, she said her son had previously attempted suicide.”This is what bullying does,” she said in the video. “Can you please educate your children, your families, your friends?”
The Indigenous #NRLAllStars are behind you Quaden! 👊🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/52RLy8SrSd
— NRL (@NRL) February 20, 2020
With the NRL All Stars game between an Indigenous and a Maori side to be played on Saturday night, the Indigenous All Stars reached out, asking the Brisbane boy to lead them onto the field on the Gold Coast.
The team recorded a video, with South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell, who met Quaden at the 2016 Koori Knockout rugby league carnival, doing the talking.
“Hey Quadey, how you going, cuz?” he said of the boy that he described as a “little super hero” after their 2016 meeting.
Hugh Jackman has posted a message of support to a distraught nine-year-old boy who is being bullied because of his dwarfism.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 21, 2020
Quaden Bayles’ mother asked for advice as she posted footage of her son in floods of tears – more here: https://t.co/jmQl9KA4mi pic.twitter.com/Am2DO7IVMw
“Just want to wish you all the best, brother. We know you’re going through a hard time right now but the boys are here, we got your back, we’re here to support you, bud. And we just want to make sure that you’re doing alright.
“Your mum’s on your side, we’re on your side and [we want to] make sure you’re thinking the right things, bud, because we want you around.”
Māori All Stars player Brad Takairangi said his team would also show Quaden some love.