A 15-year-old boy took his own life after he was being bullied because of his sexuality.
Nigel Shelby was a ninth-grade schoolboy in Huntsville, Alabama, and on April 19, the young boy took his own life after suffering homophobic abuse in his school.
Following his death, friends and family spread messages of awareness on social media calling for parents to educate their children.
One person who let their opinion be known is popular rugby referee Nigel Owens.
The Welshman, who campaigns against bullying across the United Kingdom following his own experiences, shared a well-worded tweet that has since gone viral with over 3,500 likes.
This makes me so sad and so angry too. Please help stop all forms of bullying. I was bullied in school myself and it’s a horrible scary situation to be in especially for a young person. We cannot choose our sexuality. But YOU can choose to respect people who are different to you. https://t.co/upW4HWEOoL
— Nigel Owens MBE (@Nigelrefowens) April 23, 2019