Gabriel Taye's family just gained Bengals star Carlos Dunlap in the fight against bullying

The story of 8-year-old Gabriel Taye's death by suicide gained momentum several months after his death. Now, nearly a year later, a new ally is working to end bullying in Taye's name and memory: Carlos Dunlap, defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Carlos Dunlap Foundation already works to "provide children with engaging and enriching activities to help them learn and grow," according to its website. Initiatives include ACT prep, sports camps and birthday parties for homeless children. For the 2017 season, Dunlap's foundation took an anti-bullying campaign to AFC cities during Bengals away games, as well as four Cincinnati events. Dunlap said when he heard Taye's story, his heart sank. "Last off-season I heard about what happened with Gabe Taye," he said. "For me to hear the details about what happened -- to be a kid at that age, going through something, for him to be that alone to take his own life -- I think that was something that could easily be prevented if he had help. Or if we bring awareness to the situation." Dunlap said he's most bothered that no students or teachers seemed to help Taye in the days between the bathroom incident and his death. "An incident at school happened two days before. That's two days that somebody could've stepped in, reached out to him, did something to change his mind or give him a more positive outlook on his situation," Dunlap said. "It may have prevented what happened."