Fan, age 4, sells lemonade to buy out Taggart’s contract
Frustrated 4-year-old FSU fan Grayton Grant and his father set up a lemonade stand Sunday in Tallahassee to help pay for Seminoles coach Willie Taggart’s $17 million buyout.
The Seminoles are coming off a 31-24 loss at No. 25 Virginia and are off to a 1-2 start during Taggart’s second season he promised would be better than his 5-7 debut year in Tallahassee.
The boy’s father, FSU graduate and high level booster Daniel Grant, has since delete the social media post promoting the lemonade stand because of a backlash.
“It was a joke,” Grant posted in response to a critic on Twitter Monday. “People need to relax. [By the way] my children also raised over $10,000 for hurricane relief in Panama City. The lemonade stand was an attempt to teach my son about not complaining if you aren’t willing to help fix the problem. Neighbor snapped a pic [and] here we are.”
Grant responded to another critic with a message that read, “Hey Michael I’m the father of the 4-year-old you referred to as ‘awful.’ We do a lot of fundraising with our children to try and help causes and others. Here is a picture of my awful 4-year-old a week ago when he did a food drive for the humane society. Have a great week!”
The first picture Grant posted on social media captured Grayton standing in front of one sign that offered lemonade for $20 a glass and noted anyone older than 21 would get a free shot and a hug.
Another sign highlighted Taggart’s 6-9 record at FSU, 13-43 record against teams with a winning record and 53-49 career record.
Daniel Grant told the Tallahasse Democrat Sunday he planned to send a $482 check to the Seminole Boosters after a successful day of lemonade sales with a note that read, “I am tired of losing football games and being made fun of at school for being a Seminole fan. At four, I am already starting to gravitate towards the color orange. You don’t want that for an innocent kid like me.”
Grant told reporters and posted on social media that his family remains ardent supporters of the FSU football program and would be in a luxury suite at Doak Campbell Stadium cheering on the Seminoles Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when they face Louisville.
“We will be there screaming for them to beat Louisville and every Saturday after that for them to turn it around,” Grant told the Democrat. “We won’t ever stop supporting them. It’s in our blood.
“But, man, it gets tougher and tougher.”