Bullied child Quaden Bayles leads out indigenous rugby team in Australia

Brad Williams, a comedian known for his diminutive size, raised more than $250,000 to send a bullied child in Australia to Disneyland in California.

Quaden Bayles, 9, was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a common form of dwarfism, when he was three days old, News.com reported. Saturday, Bayles led out an indigenous rugby league team in an exhibition match in Queensland against New Zealand Maoris.

Update 12:53 p.m. EST Feb. 22: Quaden Bayles, a 9-year-old Australian boy who won worldwide support after being bullied for his dwarfism, led out an indigenous rugby league team Saturday in front of thousands of cheering fans, CNN reported.

The National Rugby League’s Indigenous All-Stars asked the boy to lead out the side for their match against the Maori All-Stars on the Gold Coast, the BBC reported.

Holding the hand of team captain Joel Thompson, Quaden led the players onto the pitch as the crowd cheered, according to the BBC.

Original report: Bayles has endured daily taunting for years. His mother, Yarraka Bayles, shared a video of Quaden Tuesday after a recent attack.

“I’ve just picked up my son from school, witnessed a bullying episode, rang the principal, and I want people to know, parents, educators teachers, this is the effects that bullying has, this is what bullying does,” Bayles said in the video.

The video shows Quaden’s tear-stained face.

“Give me a knife – I want to kill myself,” he said. “I just want to die right now.”

His mother told News.com she first caught Quaden trying to harm himself when he was 6 years old.

“This is the impact that bullying has on a 9-year-old kid that just wants to go to school, get an education and have fun,” Bayles said.

Quadan no longer attends the school. Bayles is considering home-schooling.

Comedian Brad Williams, who has dwarfism, was one of the millions of people who viewed the video. He felt compelled to help. Williams started a GoFundMe account to help send Quaden to Disneyland in California.

“This isn’t just for Quaden, this is for anyone who has been bullied in their lives and told they weren’t good enough,” Williams wrote on the fundraising site. “Let’s show Quaden and others, that there is good in the world and they are worthy of it.”

The effort has raised more than $256,000 as of Friday morning. Money left over from the Disneyland trip will be donated to anti-bullying charities.

Cox Media Group