ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – A Florida student was bullied for the homemade University of Tennessee shirt he wore to school.
- Florida boy bullied for homemade University of Tennessee shirt
- UT responded by sending box full of swag
- The university also used boy's design to create official shirt
The student, who didn't own any official apparel, made one to wear for College Colors Day at Altamonte Elementary School in Altamonte Springs, according to a Facebook post by his teacher, Laura Snyder.
He drew the UT logo on a white piece of paper and pinned it to an Orange t-shirt.
A few students at the school made fun of the student's sign, bringing him to tears.
"After lunch, he came back to my room, put his head on his desk and was crying," Snyder wrote. "Some girls at the lunch table next to his (who didn't even participate in college colors day) had made fun of his sign that he had attached to his shirt. He was devastated."
It wasn't long after Snyder shared the story that Tennessee fans rallied to show support for the student.
The University of Tennessee sent a box full of swag—hats, t-shirts and other goodies—to the student.
And the university even used his UT design to create an official shirt.
"When I told him that his design was being made into a real shirt and people wanted to wear it, his jaw dropped," Snyder wrote in an update on Friday. "He had a big smile on his face, walked taller, and I could tell his confidence grew today! Thanks you to the UT Nation for that."
The University of Tennessee says a portion of proceeds from every shirt sold will go to Stomp Out Bullying, an anti-bullying organization. Demand for the shirt was so high that the university's online store crashed on Saturday.