"My two kids are autistic, and this is to honor them" - Rays slugger Harold Ramirez explains heartwarming meaning behind blue hair
The parent-child relationship is the most beautiful, and Harold Ramirez's love for his children is a wonderful example.
The Tampa Bay Rays outfielder's son, Elian, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was two, a condition that impacts the ability to communicate and interact.
On Friday, Harold Ramirez, on the Intentional Talk, was asked about the meaning behind his blue hair.
"It makes me very happy that people around the world know about my blue hair," Ramirez said via interpreter.
"And it's blue for a reason. I don't know if the whole world knows, but my two kids are autistic, and this is to honor them."
The blue color, which represents calmness and acceptance, is the color used to create awareness about autism. That's why you may always see Harold Ramirez's hair blue; it's to spread and educate everyone about autism.
It's not only his hair that he uses to speak about autism.
Harold Ramirez's puzzle piece tattoo: What does it represent?
Harold Ramirez has a puzzle piece tattooed on his hand, and it has a special meaning too, which he also disclosed on the same segment.
"It's the same as my hair," Ramirez said. "It's kind of a lot of the same meaning and the puzzle pieces represent the same meaning that my hair does."
Just over the tattoo, there's a line in English: "It's okay to be different."
"And on the hand it says, I don't know if you can see, it says it's okay to be different in English," Ramirez added.
The host further asked if his son faces any difficulty when he attends games, given that there's a lot of noise in the stadium.
"I'm very fortunate for him that when he attends these games, he actually enjoys it," Ramirez said. "He's only a grade one, a level one autistic, so a lot of the noise and all that stuff and the loud noise around the stadium, he actually likes."
Ramirez also mentioned that, just like last year, the Rays have incorporated Autism Day to spread awareness regarding it.