LOS ANGELES — On the field, Justin Turner is a symbol of resilience, having hit the game-winning shots that led the Dodgers to the 2020 World Series. But off the field, there’s another “game” he’s been quietly fighting for years — the battle with the pain of children with cancer.
With his wife, Kourtney, Justin founded The Justin Turner Foundation, which aims to support children with cancer, the homeless, and U.S. veterans in need. Many times, after a long game, instead of going home to rest, he would go to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to visit each patient, give gifts, and simply sit and chat.
“I used to think I was the strongest person standing in front of tens of thousands of people. But then I met these kids — these little warriors who were fighting every hour. And I realized, that’s where the real strength lies,” Turner shared during a local television appearance.
One story that brought tears to the MLB community was when Turner secretly visited Ava, an 8-year-old girl with leukemia who had written him a handwritten note saying “watching you hit helps me forget the pain.” When Ava died, Turner sent her family a Dodgers jersey with her name embroidered on it, along with the words: “You were always part of our team.”
“I can’t save everyone,” he said, “but if just one kid can smile for one more day, every hit in my life is worth it.”
Justin Turner will no longer play for the Dodgers after the 2022 season, but his legacy of kindness lives on in the city where he was not just a sports hero, but a man who put his heart before his fame.
In the competitive and prestigious world of sports, Justin Turner is a reminder that the greatest beauty of an athlete isn’t in the scoreboard — it’s in what they do when no one is looking. To hundreds of kids, he was more than just a player… he was a light.