Brandon George slowly lowered his massive frame, taking a knee beside a small hospital bed to reach the level of the small boy in it.
The 6-foot, 3-inch, 240-pound NFL linebacker spoke with a softness and calm that contradicted his imposing figure and violent profession. He smiled gently as he quietly asked 4-year-old Ezekiel Caudillo-Santos a handful of questions.
He asked him his name. He asked if he played any sports. He asked what cartoon he was watching on the TV that hung just past the foot of the bed.
Brandon George, linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs and former standout at Berks Catholic, visits Reading Hospital pediatric unit patients, including Caudillo-Santos, 4, on Monday, March 20, 2026. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Ezekiel, however, proved to be a tough crowd.
The little boy didn’t utter a word. Not even when George placed an autographed mini football beside him on his bed.
George was undaunted.
The former star at Berks Catholic High School and current Kansas City Chief moved on to the next room, looking for another opportunity to spread a little joy.
After all, that was the whole reason he had stopped by Reading Hospital on Monday afternoon.
The 25-year-old George, who was named the Reading Eagle’s 2019 male Athlete of the Year before starring at the University of Pittsburgh and making it into the NFL, spent time meeting with each and every young patient in the hospital’s pediatrics wing.
“I just wanted to give back to the community a little bit,” he said.
Having grown up in Reading, George is quite familiar with the hospital. He has an aunt who worked there for years as a nurse, and as a boy he attended the hospital’s day care center.
“It looks the same as when I was 5,” he said of driving past the center earlier in the day.
So when an opportunity arose through Tony Balistrere, director of development for the Reading Hospital Foundation and former Berks Catholic principal, to visit with some of the hospital’s youngest patients, George jumped at the chance.
“At some point we’ve all gone through hardships, we’ve all been in the hospital,” he said. “I want to tell them that it’s all going to be OK. I want to try to encourage them and maybe bring a sense of normalcy to them.”
And that’s exactly what he did.
George hopped from room to room, offering smiles and friendly chats.
Isaac Chaparro was more than happy to chat back.
The 13-year-old from Reading wound up in the hospital two days before George’s visit, having broken his ankle playing football. That’s something George knows about all too well, having once had surgery on his ankle for a football-related injury.
“It doesn’t tickle,” he said, with Isaac nodding in agreement. “But after the doctors do their thing it feels like new afterwards.”
Isaac said that despite how he got injured, football isn’t his favorite sport. He’s a hooper, with his sights set on playing for the Reading High basketball team one day.
“But I do like football, too,” he said, adding that his favorite team is the Miami Dolphins.
Isaac’s cousin, however, is a big Chiefs fan, mostly due to the team’s star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“I’m not going to lie, he’s him,” George said of his teammate.
Isaac wasn’t 100% convinced.
“I still think Tom Brady is better,” he said.
George conceded that, at this point, Isaac may be right. But quickly added that Mahomes, who is coming off a season-ending injury, has a lot of playing time still in front of him.
“He’s going to come back and drop MVP numbers,” George insisted. “Just like you’re going to come back and drop buckets.”