Randy Moss hands young friend her diploma at high school graduation

It's been 17 years since he joined the Minnesota Vikings to start his NFL career, but Randy Moss hasn't forgotten the young friend he made during his debut season in 1998.

The now-retired wide receiver attended the graduation ceremony at Pelican Rapids High School on Friday night to hand senior Kassi Spier her diploma.

As District Superintendent Deb Wanek explained to Hayden Goethe of Inforum.com, Spier battled leukemia in her early years, lost her father to a car accident in 2004, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013.

Moss was by her side through it all, including the difficult time of the then-four-year-old's initial leukemia diagnosis in 2000.

"She's had many struggles in her life, and he’s been there for her," Wanek said. "He told her he’d be at her high school graduation."

As one particular story from Dave Campbell of the Associated Press described in 2003, Spier accompanied the wide receiver to lunch nearly every day at the Vikings' training camp that year.

While the former NFL superstar's presence at the ceremony in Pelican Rapids likely came as a surprise to many in attendance, Spier graduating high school evidently wasn't something he was ever going to miss.