'We're the same': How the Jazz helped out a Pleasant Grove High student who was bullied

SALT LAKE CITY — Sitting across from the Jazz bench, Luc Holdaway took it all in. It was more than an hour before the Jazz would tip off against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but there he was chatting with Donovan Mitchell and getting handed his shoes, having a jersey signed by Rudy Gobert and just soaking it all in.

“It was great being able to see how excited he was,” Mitchell said.

But Mitchell wishes he could have met the young man under different circumstances.

The Jazz guard was disgusted by the story: a Pleasant Grove High senior waking up to find his car covered in manure. It was awful, it was horrendous — and then Mitchell found out there was more to it.

There were incidents that predated that one — with some including the use of racial slurs.

“My son, Luc, was mowing the lawn and he came in and told me someone drove past and yelled something very explicit at him,” Seth Holdaway told KSL TV’s Ashley Kewish. “They called him a stupid N-word. My son is adopted from Haiti.”

Mitchell felt he had to take action. He got in contact with Luc and exchanged text messages with him. Rudy Gobert jumped in and bought Luc and guests' tickets to Monday’s game. And not just any tickets — courtside ones directly across from the Jazz bench.

“I think for me, just continuing to just let him know that he has somebody to talk to,” Mitchell said. “Obviously using my platform to being able to help out.”

It was a show of support for the young man, but also a way to stand up against bullying and racism everywhere.

“It's not just what happened here,” Mitchell said. “I think it's more so (an issue) in our country, in the world, really — just bullies in general. And I think it's just one of those things that it's teaching people that they're better than (others), and I think we live in a world where that's kind of been the case — not just for kids but with adults when people kind of feel that way. And you think, if you start at that age and start that early, it can kind of grow into much worse things.”

Mike Conley said he remembers being picked on because he was a little short. So he understands the pain that comes from being bulled and is grateful people are stepping up to help out Luc.

“I think anybody who's grown up has been through a spell and they've gotten bullied at some point,” Conley said. “I've always been a smaller person. So being a shorty, I seemed to get bullied by older people or guys who are bigger, so it is a real thing. And I think it’s not something to crack jokes about or make fun of. And I think kids everywhere need to understand that we all feel their pain and we're behind them.”

And a lot of people have been behind Luc. College athletes have reached out, so have businesses, government officials and local community members.

“It's a good credit to everyone in the state who has been helping him out,” Mitchell said. “I think it's especially seeing everyone come collectively as a group. That's really dope. Myself and Rudy are going to continue to speak on things that we need to speak on because that's disgusting. There's no way that should happen to any child, any person. For us to be able to shed light on that and show that this can't happen, I think was pretty significant.”

Mitchell said he grew up around kids that looked like him, but that he was lucky enough that his mother, Nicole, taught him at an early age that everyone is the same; that no one is better than anyone else. That’s a message he is now sharing.

“You see us on TV, but we're the same, we all do the same things, we all are people,” Mitchell said. “That's kind of what our message has been and will continue to be. And I think instances like this, where we bring Luc to a game and give him different things because he deserves it. I think that's one thing we really want to focus on in this world is being able to bring peace and joy as opposed to running people into the ground.”

Luc felt some of that joy on Monday.

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