Misunderstanding of South LA teacher’s kind deed triggers criticism online

A gym teacher from South Los Angeles faced major backlash on social media when a video captured him putting dozens of prized Dodgers-Hello Kitty sweatshirts in bags and carrying them out of the stadium.

While people online were quick to accuse him of hoarding the giveaway items and even claiming he was a reseller, Jose Alvarez was actually doing something kind for his students.

Alvarez, who’s been an educator for three decades at John Muir Middle School, said his passion lies in inspiring his students to dream big. As someone who was born and raised in the very community where he now has his career, Alvarez said he does what he can to motivate his students to succeed.

“Like I tell the students, I said, ‘When you do good in school, you do good academically. You get rewarded,’” he said.

Over the years, Alvarez has taken his top students to a Dodger game. For many, it’s a dream come true and even their first Major League Baseball game.

Things were different this year, however, due to the threat of a strike within the Los Angeles Unified School District. With that, the field trip to the Dodger game was canceled for the 35 students who were slated to go. However, Alvarez was determined to secure the giveaway item from his class’s scheduled game to ensure students at least got a keepsake from it.

“They allowed me to come in, so they said, ‘You can only come in five at a time,’” the teacher said. “So, I went in, got to put them in a bag.”

“So, I’m walking with this big, heavy bag,” Alvarez said. “Looked like Santa Claus walking down.”

That’s when someone spotted Alvarez and, without his knowledge or consent, recorded a video of him and posted it online, accusing him of taking extra sweatshirts to make a profit.

“All of a sudden, first period, I get it — one of my colleagues sends me a text, and I said, he says, ‘Look, Mr. Alvarez, what they’re posting,’” he said.

Alvarez said he was hurt by the accusations when he was just trying to do a good deed for his young students.

“I had to hold my composure,” he said. “I didn’t reply, just kept quiet.”

Eventually, Alvarez’s name was cleared and the person who posted the video learned of his good deed. After learning what Alvarez was really doing with the sweatshirts, the online user made another video admitting that he was wrong.

“I’m saying just moving forward, I wish more people on social media would just think twice before they post stuff,” Alvarez said. “Sometimes it could lead to somebody getting hurt, you know?”

The teacher said he organizes the Dodger trips for his students to make them smile, similarly to what his father did for him.

“My dad passed away three years ago. He was a huge Dodger fan,” Alvarez said. He went on to recall the happiness he felt in going to games with his late father.

“So, for me, just to have students experience that game was really, really, I mean, I’ve been doing this for a long year,” Alvarez said. “Just the happiness on their face.”