Bob CollinsWith any luck, this is the story people will tell about Randy Moss instead of that one about the parking enforcement officer in Minneapolis.
Last night, the former Vikings star showed up at the Pelican Rapids High School graduation to hand a diploma to senior Kassi Spier, the Fargo Forum reports. (See picture from the Pelican Rapids Press)
Spier met Moss at an autograph session in 1998 and has had a difficult time. She had leukemia, her father died in a car crash in 2004, and she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013.
Moss kept three photos in his locker at Winter Park in his playing days. One is of Kory Stringer, his teammate who collapsed and died during practice, one of his brother, and one with Spier, ESPN reported in a profile in 2004. Back in the day when there was “good Randy” and “bad Randy,” the young woman brought out the “good Randy.”
The last photo, though, may be the most telling. It shows Moss with 8-year-old Kassi Spier, whom the wideout met during his first training camp, and with whom he has remained close since. Spier was found to have leukemia in May 2000, and perhaps the most newsworthy aspect of their relationship is that Moss refuses to talk about it. Every media outlet attempted to delve into Moss’ softer side after the relationship became public last summer. Some still try, and the answer is the same: no. “I know how she feels about me, and she knows how I feel about her,” Moss says. “Our relationship is not important to anybody but us.”
As he so often does for Moss, Tice explains: “Randy wants everyone to think he’s a tough guy, but his relationship with this little girl is really something. It’s typical of Randy. He’s great with kids. He doesn’t trust authority. And he doesn’t trust adults because he thinks they all want something from him. And you know what? He’s not far off.”
Nobody seemed to know Moss would show up at last evening’s ceremony.
