METAIRE, LA — What started as an ordinary trip to the grocery store has turned into a viral story of kindness for former Georgia Bulldog and New Orleans Saints rookie Christen Miller.
Leslie Pedigo said she was checking out at a Rouses Market in Metairie when she noticed a large man standing behind her carrying only a bag of fresh shrimp.
Thinking she was doing him a favor, Pedigo told the cashier to let him check out first. Instead, Miller placed his shrimp beside her groceries and told the cashier to ring everything together.
Pedigo immediately protested, insisting he didn’t need to pay for her groceries.
“He looked at me with the kindest smile and said, ‘My Momma always taught me to do good deeds, and I’d like to bless you today. Please don’t take that blessing from me,’” Pedigo wrote.
Miller then paid for her groceries, picked up his shrimp and simply told her, “God bless you,” before walking away.
Still stunned by what had happened, Pedigo said another customer smiled and asked if she knew who had just paid for her groceries.
“I said, ‘No, sir,’” Pedigo wrote. “He smiled and replied, ‘That’s a Saints player.’”
Pedigo hurried outside, introduced herself and learned the man was Christen Miller, the former Georgia defensive lineman selected by New Orleans in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft.
She said what impressed her most wasn’t that Miller played in the NFL, but that he never sought recognition for his generosity.
“Christen never acted like he was somebody important. He never sought attention, never expected recognition, never made the moment about himself,” Pedigo wrote. “He simply chose kindness when no one was watching.”
Pedigo also thanked Miller’s mother, writing that she raised “a son whose character speaks louder than any statistic ever could.”
While she admitted she’s never been much of a football fan, Pedigo said she now has a reason to start paying attention this season.
“I’ll be cheering for my new favorite player,” she wrote, “not because of what he does on the field, but because of who he proved himself to be in a grocery store checkout line.”
A Facebook post detailing Miller’s unexpected gesture has garnered more than 21,000 likes, 3,000 shares and more than 1,000 comments, with many praising the rookie for his humility and generosity.
