On Monday, Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay stood stoic on the track of Lafayette High School in Lexington, KY where both he and his teenage daughter Trinity excelled in the sport. “I want you guys to love each other, have peace and protect each other,” he said to a crowd of thousands assembled to honor his daughter, who had been tragically shot and killed in a restaurant parking lot over the weekend. The younger Gay advanced to the Kentucky Class 3A state championships this past spring.
In a time when a community is gathered together to mourn the unimaginable loss of a talented teen, the last thing anyone wants to think about is policing GoFundMe for phony fundraisers. But as we know, they sort of come with the territory these days.
The fake GoFundMe campaign called Trinity Gay Goodbye Party — created the day of Gay’s death — sought to raise $8000 to host a “a farewell party to pay respect to the family and stopping black on black gun violence and crime.” It is unclear who started the campaign, as it simply used Trinity’s name as campaign organizer.
Lexington police said the page was not “created or supported by the family and they have asked that no one submit donations.”
The campaign has since been removed, and a GoFundMe spokesperson said the lone donor has been refunded. Police are investigating.