Philanthropy: The Quieter Side of Football
- Veronica R. Chiesi Brown
- Apr 27, 2015
- 2 min read
In a year plagued with bad incidents in the NFL I think it is important to point out there is a lot of good going on too. As a former journalist, I always used to hear (and still do) about how all the news is bad and that is why people don't watch (I will stay off my soapbox on that one). Well I am here to point out the good, often less emphasized part of football: Philanthropy.
Many Buffalo Bills players give back to their communities whether monetarily or with their time and talents. Some through charities the Buffalo Bills support and others through their own charities. One example is LeSean McCoy. He started his Shades of Greatness Foundation after his grandmother died of Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). The Foundation provides direct support to individuals battling ALS to ensure a comfortable quality of life; and supporting their family and caregivers in providing quality life care.
Another example is Fred Jackson's D3 Nation. Granted, it isn't a traditional charity but its whole design is to give back and encourage Division III athletes. Jackson was a DIII star and lived his dream by playing in the NFL, a dream many Division III athletes don't get the same chance at as those at bigger schools.
Fred Jackson's pride in his Division III college career prompted him to show his support for Lauren Hill. Hill, a freshman at Division III Mount St. Joseph College in Cincinnati, had inoperable brain cancer and her dream was to play college basketball. Fred Jackson attended the game she played and scored in. Fred took his son to the game and said: “That's the number one goal [as a father],” he said. “To show how you can reach people as a sports figure and not just let sports be about going out and competing against other people. But how it can be used as a tool to get information out there on all kinds of things and how she was using that to get everyone to help fight against the disease.”
Another similar story of philanthropy of spirit is Marqueis Gray. Gray along with Minnesota wide-receiver Charles Johnson answered the call when Mackenzie Moretter's mother asked via Facebook for people to come to Mackenzie's birthday party. Mackenzie's mom was worried after several people canceled that no one would show up. Johnson, Gray and dozens of others attended. Gray said "It's not about gloating or posting that I did something for charity...I'm a human being, too. When people are in need, you go out of your way to make the best of it."
The point is these football players are not just football players. They are human beings and the majority of them are good ones. Good men who make up good football teams both on and off the field. They prove that nice guys don't always finish last.
Veronica Chiesi Brown @VRCB32
Link to: Bills Fanatics FB Group
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