There's a man who's going to take the stage to lead our next panel that needs no introduction, as the m C. Cliche goes, but it is kind of true. Uh. He is one of the best of all time on the field and off the field. The old cliche was he only caught touchdowns, but that was far from true. He had over eleven hundred regular receptions to his Hall of Fame career, and he was also a man who has inspired change for decades through his platform as an
all time NFL great. He was the nine recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award presented by Nationwide. And he will introduce the rest of the panelists as he moderates this one on social justice and inspiring change. I leave you in the absolutely capable hands, all time great hands, Chris Carter, Chris, good to see you, buddy. Get a man, Thank you many, thank you, thank you very much. Now joining me on the stage, a star in his own right, and a guy that single handedly
has helped lead NFL players and their voices. Welcome to the stage. Ramon Jones, CMO of Nationwide. Nice little track there, I like that. Always impeccably dressed welcome, welcome, welcome. Next to the stage, a very very dear friend of mine. I have to apologize for that. Two thousand and two Award winner, Executive Vice President NFL Football Operations, And I scored a couple of TVs on this guy. You don't
want to admit it. Troy Vincent. When they came to Philly, we beat their Backsage Next, two thousand fourteen Award winner, fifteen year NFL veteran, mostly with Carolina six Todd. I know my Mike was going out polize. Check out the shoes. He's dressed like a wide receiver. Former linebacker Thomas Davis. Yeah, I guess now true. You played fifteen right, Thomas? You
played six team with You played six team? Come on down, big fellows, Mr Good Looking, Mr Clean, two thousand award winner, Captain of the defending Super Bowl champ, The Ultimate walk Off. He's been working on his tan Is golf game. His wife told him find something else to do. That's right. These are the finest of the finest that we have
and players. First of all, um, starting with TV, kind of explain some of the programs that you're currently doing in the communities, because you've got a couple of different programs, sometimes in Virginia, sometimes in New York Jersey. Yep, so just real briefly, just my wife, Tommy and I. We began our community work back in our hometown, Trent, New Jersey.
We started off which we still do, which is the bedrock of our our foundation is supporting domestic violence shelters and families and women that have been impacted by sexual assault UM in the city of Trent, New Jersey. And then as we moved to northern Virginia, we began to frankly, just make sure that we are we're impacting every city,
every state because violent against women is rampant. And then most recently in the in the last ten years, our efforts have been around elementary education and really focusing in on bridging the gap between UM young men and women again K through five as our concentration UM, just building that educational divide. Are some of the things that you're
doing currently, Yeah, so we're currently. I started my foundation in two thousand and eight, and you know, as the years go on, my goal with my foundation has always to make it bigger and better than the previous year. And that's something that we've been able to do. And this, ironically, you're working with K through five. I started the Leadership
Academy that works with six seventh and eighth grade kids. UM. And the reason why we chose six seventh and eighth grade kids we know and we started to learn that kids at that age they make a decision what direction they're gonna go in. So we wanted to start working with them or being productive leaders and not being followers, because if you can catch them early before they reached those high school years, UM, we understood that we can
have a huge impact on their future. And UM we've been able to be a part of some kids becoming first generation in college grass UM through our programs. So that's one of the things that I'm most proud of what we do with I know you're still doing some amazing things, but I want you to tell the story about the team you previously played for and one game being surprised because someone came across the field and you were a little apprehensive about that situation. Yeah, it was unbelievable.
It was one of those things when you're playing in the game, you have TV time out, so you've played against guys throughout your career and you know you might dab him up, you might get him little head nod. It might be somebody you don't like that much, and you make a little eye contact. All these things happen, right, but you know how many smiles and every now and then this guy as you really know and there's a
little bit of talk. But in this game, I kept seeing this young kid just staring at me every TV time out and just like made me think of my own kids, Like just the excitement in his face. I was like, he has something to say and he won't say it, and so I just kept like, you know, give him a little way, a little nod. And the game ends and I see him running for me after the final whistle, and I'm like, oh, man, all right,
how do I know this guy? Like I'm trying to think through l s U buddies, Like did somebody text me this week and say, you know, look out for my boy, like an agent or something, you know, somebody tell me to look out for this guy. And he walks up and it was so cool. It's like he could see it in my face, like man, he is not know who I am. And he's like, hey, calm down, like you're not gonna know me. He's like, but I just I wanted two things, one to tell you thank you,
and to to tell you I made it. And he ended up telling me he's like, my name's Derek Barnes. He's like, you used to throw the football, hang out me on the steps, and just chill with me on NFL Tuesdays in the NFL when you were a rookie
in Cincinnati. I was one of those kids at the Boys and Girls Club, whether you realized it or not, that you were spending your time with and hanging out with, and it meant the world to me and I have waited for this moment when I saw the schedule come out, to be able to come tell you I made it, and it was it was honestly, it was like I
blocked out after that, I really I went back. I texted me next week like, I don't know what I said to you after you told me that, but thank you, man, appreciate your sharing it with Now we're moan for you. You've had a very very special relationship with the National
Football League. You've grown the partnership that was starting. Tell us how that partnership has helped you nationwide as a company and then on a personal standpoint, hearing these stories and getting to know the men that win this award, type of effect that's had on you. Sure thing, Chris, so first and foremost as an honor to be up here with these gentlemen. It is an honor. One of these people don't belong here. It's the insurance guy, you
know what I mean. I'm just kidding, Uh, it's it is an honor to be here and to listen to these stories. It becomes really really obvious why this is important to nationwide. We describe our company as being more than a business. And yes we're fortune. Yes, you know, we look to drive sales and and grow revenue as all of the partners do. But this is more than a business to us. Uh. It's important that we give back to the communities in which our associates and our
our members are policy holders, live in, work. Uh In The partnership with the NFL actually helps us do that. Uh. There's lots of ways that you can partner with the NFL. We leaned into and couldn't be more proud to be associated with the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award because again a substantial part of our effort goes into giving back. I mean, there's a hospital in Columbus called the Nationwide Children's Hospital. That's just an example of how
it's important that we give back. To be able to shine a light on a work that these gentlemen do U and the other nominees every year, the work that they do, the nonprofits that they support, to be able to support that financially, to be able to put our brand behind that, it just it means the world to us. But it's really important to our partners, to the people that sell our products. It is important to the people that purchase our products, you know, consumers today and in
the future. They want to make sure that they're doing business with a company that cares. And we'd like to describe ourselves that way. Lastly, personally, UH, it is an honor to be able to play a role in shining a light on role models for the next generation. And so there's plenty of opportunities to see UH men and black men showing up poorly in the media. There's plenty
of opportunities to do that. There's plenty of opportunities to bash sports in the bash the NFL, as I heard in one of the videos it's important for us to show the good work that you guys are doing when your helmets are off, when you're not there, and so to be able to use my position and have the support of my company to shine a light on that, there's no higher honor, and so that might be a little bit more than what you were looking for, Crystal, this is a big deal for us. It is, and
we're proud to be part of it. You guys have made it a big deal. You made it very very important from a corporate standpoint. You're talking points are very very consistent, and you empowered our players to do even greater things. This is such a prestigious award, Thomas. Let's talk about the prestige of the award inside the NFL circles amongst our six players, and then give me maybe one or two players that might have been a good example or even a coach as far as you're getting
out and being involved in the community. Yeah, so this is definitely, without a doubt, the most prestigious award that you can win because if you look at wars that are being given, like if you look at the Defensive Player of the Year, that's an award that you win as an individual player, but you win it because you have other great teammates that are around you that are doing great things. Same thing with the m v P Award,
the Most Valuable Offensive Player award. Those are all awards that you can win because you have people that are around you that are supporting you, that are helping you. When I look at the watching Paton Man that a year award, the same thing though. We have a lot of great people that are around us that are doing a lot of great work, whether it be board members, whether it be people within the community just coming to
help out. So that's why this award to me is the most prestigious award that you can ever win as a player. UM's only given to one player yearly, and there are so many people that are so deserving for it, so we're all competing, we're all doing great things. But I think for me, it's always been about just going out and doing the work, doing the work, not looking for in the war, not looking for the attention UM
or trying to gain notoriety. And I know I'm getting a little bit off topic, but I'm extremely passionate about making the space that I'm in better. I learned that at a young age, and I knew at a very young age that I wanted to dive deep into this community because I watched my mom struggle day in and day out. I watched her struggle to raise me and my sister, and I knew that there are a ton of parents, a ton of mothers that were dealing with
some of the same things. And for me, I would be remissed if I sat there as an NFL player making millions of dollars and not using it for good.
So literally, nationwide, I'm gonna talk about you all a little bit too ramon the the award and the money that they gave the players went up astronomically after I won for whateverse but but listen, but literally literally um And I said that to say this, like literally, probably eight of the money that has been donated over the from two thousand and eight to two thousand and twenty two to my foundation and the work that we do
has come for me. And I'm fine with that. Like I'm not saying that to to sound like I'm complaining about it. But for me, it's all about it's all about giving back and having that that feeling of knowing that you just made a difference in somebody's line, somebody who on an uneven playing field. When you look at certain kids that go to school and they don't have school supplies, like something that's simple as just having a
backpack that has school supplies. We started doing that and giving it to him, and then we learned that, Okay, in two weeks those supplies were done. How can we do this so these kids can sustain this throughout the whole year, So we started picking up particular school and
doing the entire school for the entire school year. I think that has a greater impact on a parent who's wondering, you know how am I gonna do this for my kid or a kid that's wondering, you know how am I gonna have, you know, just a pencil or paper or just the basic things that we take for granted day in the day out. That's what my foundation is therefore in the Carolina's and um and also in Georgia as well, and that's what UM continues to drive me
to do those things. Andrew, You've always given back UM, you and your wife from from Louisiana, You've always had that part of what you wanted to do. UM went to Cincinnati, carried that on to Los Angeles, And what was in your heart to make you want to give back? Because we all have a story of the catalyst, So
what was yours to giving back? And explain to the fans out there after you've been through this long, long career, you had one of the best moments all time, a mic drop walk off home team, home game, my team wins and I quit. Wait, so not only that, don't leave out the fact that it was against your former team.
So I wasn't gonna throw that in there, Thomas, He was trying to Um, you know, it's one of those things to me, I think growing up, Um, I think it's hard to pinpoint exactly the moment that I realized it, But I think as I grew up as a kid, I had big guys and and and big ears, Like I saw and I listened and I observed, like and I think the word to me that always comes to mind is you can think of things like you know, sympathy, Like you can think of somebody went through something You're
gonna comfort them in a tough time and say, hey man, you're gonna be okay, You're gonna make it through this. But that's not the word. To me that that really I realized I had a special empathy to where I see somebody going through something. I'd walk through a grocery store and just see like their life looks different than
mine does, or my life looks different than their's. They're getting their their baskets all the way full, they look like they're getting everything they want, and just in general in life. And so it gave me this ability that I started just pay attention, like I'm listening to conversations and listening to people's struggle and seeing it and it's like, oh man, I don't want them to feel that way. So I don't want to just tell them they're gonna be okay. I want to find a way to make
it better for him. And so to me, it became that's what drove me, and that was my driving force. Every time I signed a contract the NFL, I thought of, all right, if I can get to this number, I bet we can donate this during the season, or we can make this difference. Like these steps, I'm gonna they're gonna grow as I grow, We're gonna grow in the community together. And so I think, to me, it was
all about finding out. And I would say this to the sponsors and to companies in the businesses when when you want to make a difference, don't tell people what you're gonna give them, find out what they need, create a relationship in a conversation and an interaction where you meet people where they are. And I always say this the greatest attribute to the greatest thing that I try
to always keep myself humbled to. I'm gonna meet people where they are all the way in life and every instance, in every room and every conversation, I'm gonna find where they are, and I'm gonna try and help be with them right there in that moment. And if there's a way I can help them get to the next moment, whether that's all the things I listened in that speech, smiles, investments,
all those things, I'm gonna help them get there. And I think if you're a company sitting out there to exactly what Nationwide's doing and it's continued to do, is say what is it that people need, not what I want to give them, and find a way to meet him in that space. And that moment of sharing that I had at the Super Bowl, to me is really accumulation of success on the football field and success off
the football field. In this awesome moment that I think of all the times I might would have quit, I might would have given up, and I think of the guys, the communities, the kids, the soldiers, to all the people that were a part of all of those years. And really the greatest thing I walked away with it from is super Bowl trophy is awesome, Walter pay Man. Your
trophy is amazing, it really is. But those relationships that will last forever and those impacts that change people for the better, those will be what will leave with me and be in my heart forever and nobody will ever change that. And not only that, but the moments like this, sitting on the stage with people that I know how special they are as human beings and their hearts for people. And to give one quick thing, I'm gonna share an example of that. We talked about Derek Barnes and me.
There's a guy on this stage that made a comment to me when I was a rookie that literally led to a lot of my career, and as Troy Vincent, I met him at my rookie symposium and he probably doesn't even remember this, I was telling him. At that time, I took it for granted playing the league. I was like I had drafted in second round. Cincinnati has Willie Anderson and all these great players, like I'm never gonna play, but I'll figure it out. He pulled me the side.
He said, hey, man, let me tell you something. You're a moment is right around the corner. It takes one play and all of a sudden, you're got me on the football field. So you've got to drop that attitude and attack it like it's yours. He told me that in my rookie symposium. I've never forgot it, and I've shared it with guys every year in my career. And I don't even know if he remembers that moment, but it changed a lot for me in my attack to going to Chase to be in the NFL and be successful.
He listened, Thomas didn't. I just had to say that, Thomas Awesome tv UM TV is a dear friend of mine, and I want you to give us a thirty thousand square foot look because executive vice president of the NFL, tell me what you've seen from the modern day athlete. That's kind of surprised you. And from a corporate standpoint, can you talk to corporations and let them know the power that they give the league and the players for the things that they're involved. Well, I'll start with the
current athlete, and it really extends to our partners. I'm never amazed just young people who they're so encouraging. Um. Young people guide us through the most tumunctuous time. And at least in my time on this earth, the last say five say, the last decade, it was young people that carry this this country through tough times. And then, frankly, partners, I saw all the best and the worst in people. I think we all did over the last few years. But I was reminded there are so many good people.
They're more good than bad, more good than evil. And frankly I saw that with the players, um, and we just look at I use an example of my cause, my cleats, and just thousands of players just given. And also are the partners who, frankly you only see them the commercial side, but the partners are right there, standing right next to the player. And if we as players have that opportunity to share what our visions are or
the things that we would like to get done. What I found out was that the partners have those same visions and those same values to want to extend to the broader community, to want to make a difference. My view is that we're uh. We got the power of our sport, the power of our partners, that we can just do so much human good, and we can do human good together. I know you didn't ask me this question, but you know what my objective. My aim is to die empty. I think about that every day. I want
to die completely empty. I want to give more than Thomas. I want to give more than Andrew. I want to give more than you. I also want to partner with these individuals. And one thing as as recipients of the of this great honor, is that these men continue to keep doing good with you all as partners. You know, I e War done in the houses two hundred homes, and he's doing that with you all his partners. It's
two hundred home this past Super Bowl. I look at what Derrick Brooks is doing in Tampa with the school. But this is what these men have committed to, and they've committed to it with frankly, with your assistance, your help, and I think I'll be remiss if I again I through this time, I've I've I've come into contact with some remarkable people in our organization, individuals like Greeny and and isis In and the people that are on the grounds that are trying to bridge these gaps introduce us
to partners. There has not been a partner that I have not been introduced to, we have been introduced to that has not said Hamma. You know, if Team Sitting is here with Mike tripling his team, we're not doing what we're doing in the community without that partnership. If the Zebra team here, Bill Burns and his team, we're impacting thousands and thousands of families and and kids across the country. That's because of the power that's in this
room and the influence in this room. But the players never amazed me to keep us honest, and one of the things that we talked about at the executive level. I didn't mean to leave anybody out, but those individuals like Rob Berg, those people on the partnership side, and and and Claire, you make us individuals like us, we blossom. We get all of the credit. But there's someone behind the scenes introducing me to Ramon, they're saying, I think
you all have something in common. So I will just encourage you all to continue to speak with our office about what the good that the players are doing and what we're trying to do to to impact the communities and where we are. So that's sure. You mentioned the most trying times of our lifetime. Ramon, give me your opinion of what you saw from the National Football League. We had a few panel discussions social unrest and everything
both of us took part in. But what you saw from the National Football League and how it inspired you and your company and what you guys do on the daily basis to kind of help follow that lead. Sure, the last twenty four months have been a challenge for all of us, every company, every brand. We all had to manage through talk about unrest, not just social unrest, but just unrest in general, a pandemic. And I'm going to add something to that too for it as a minority.
I know, Troy and I man, we have plenty of heartfelt conversations crying like what are we gonna do? There's extra pressure burden on us as African American men. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Troy tells a story about the pandemic. And the long insured of it is that it forced us to stay still. It made everyone go home, you were stuck in front of your computer or whatever the case may be. But it forced us to stay still and think and observe,
and then the social unrest movement really started to happen. Uh. And I think I heard someone else talk about how the next generation, the kids, the teenagers, are forcing us to start thinking about the future. What kind of country do we want, What is it that we're building. I'm going somewhere with this, What is it that we're building
going towards the future? And how did we find it acceptable, uh, to deal with some of the images that we're being bombarded with, the examples of racism and mistreatment and unfairness, and what can we do going forward? And so as you listen to these stories, and as you hear the work that these gentlemen and others are doing in our communities, it makes it really easy for a company like Nationwide and many others that are in the room to say, I want to be a part of that. What could
I do to help? Now, we've been partnered with the NFL since so we've been at this for some time. But this, these last two years have really given us the opportunity as a company to not just turn up the volume on some of the good work that's happening out in the community, but to also think about how we want to position not just our company, but the NFL and the people who care, the people who are out there giving their day off working in the communities.
How can we help them be more successful. There isn't a child that isn't impacted by the work that you guys do. That's these kids are never going to forget that. They're never going to forget it. And even I think back to my upbringing in North Philly a long time ago, we talked about that. Uh. I haven't forgotten about the
people who have made an impression on me. And so to think about NFL stars who are actually taking the helmets off and giving their time to that next generation or two communities that needed this is an easy partnership for us to support. And so it means a lot for us to be here. Uh, And I mean it. I can't do enough to turn up the volume to shine a bright light on a good work that's happening, not just by the gentlemen that are here on the stage,
but across the league. One of the hardest things that we have to do is to choose one. Oh, there's no doubt, and and we once or twice we've done more than one. But it's the hardest thing we have to do because all of them are deserving of the award. And so I couldn't be more proud of how Nationwide has leaned into helping to shine a light on such
a prestigious award. Andrew, I want you to take us inside the locker room these last couple of years, um the response of our players and the economic fallout in communities like Los Angeles. What was the perception from the
players about everything that they were going through. I think when you really look at you know, things that happened when you talk just specifically with COVID and a lot of the shutdowns and those kind of things over the last couple of years in the locker room, even though guys weren't significantly impacted, the communities, the families that all of our friends, just like everyone in this room, you
had some way you were connected to that. Maybe maybe our situation didn't change as much, but people we care about, people we know about our communities we serve um you could see the things that were going on and the trouble that was ahead, not just in the moment, but what the next couple of years we're gonna look like after some of the things that these youth had to go through in this time. And I can remember all the conversations that creates in the locker room of what
do we do next? How can we do something right? And you really and that to me is exactly to my point earlier about meeting people where they are. And you look in Los Angeles, your two biggest things, I mean food insecurity and homes home and security, homelessness. I mean those two things are something that all of us wanted, like hey, we get all like, man, this is clear, this is one of the biggest needs in this city.
What can we do? And that's one of the immediate things we did is try to find a way to get involved with the food bank there and why it's so important because of really that issue in l A. But then when I look at really all the social justice things that went on and the initiatives the panel talks the zooms as the teams we're gonna even get togethered in the middle of all this and just hug
each other. And we're sitting on zoom look at each other on screens and tears crying, telling our stories and everybody's sharing, and you think of that, Honest to God, one of the coolest moments that's ever happening in my life is two years ago, we started as a group of players our own fund. So we had a meeting after practice and we said, you know what we're gonna do.
We're gonna get with Molly Higgins and the Rams and I'm gonna get Molly to get us give us the top thirty forty programs you think could attack social justice in l A. We're gonna get together as players. We're gonna all donate money of our game checks. We're gonna create a fund that's just driven by the players and coaches in the building. You can all donate and we're gonna go sit on zooms with these people and we're gonna choose the best ones we can that we can
go make an impact. We ended up doing that every Tuesday, so we couldn't go in the communities because of COVID, but we'd sit there on Tuesday on zooms as groups, and we listen to these people, tell the stories, tell us what they're doing, what they're trying to do to make a difference in l A and we end up by getting by the end of it, we get to a situation where it's like, well, all thirty of them
are amazing, Like how do we choose right? And so we started figeta, all right, well, if you give a little more here, I'll match this player's donation or whatever. So we end up saying, let's choose them all. So we end up being able to create a player only coach only fun that we in the building, in that heart of that locker room we all put into, we put our money in our donation into and made a
direct impact that we were involved with. And I thought it was one of the like most powerful locker room. Just feelings of feeling like we all did this together and no one initiated it, force and one started it. Forces as brothers in that locker room that come from all different walks of life, and why the NFL is the greatest example of that. We had one objective and that is people shouldn't live like this. This shouldn't should be how it should be how can we be a
part of lean into invest into making it different. And I thought that was one of the most powerful things I've ever gotten to be a part of. Thomas. You've you've been a leader any locker room, you've been in, any room you come into. You're one of the people that's going to have a speaking voice. Over the last two years. You transitioning to the Legends community. What type of leadership was needed amongst the Legends because we're still fighting the same thing, but we were outside of that
locker room and the role you played in our community. No, I just really think that it's about being intentional when you're working with Legends, when you're working with guys that have gone through the process. Right, all of us in the Legends community, we've we've played the game at some point, we've transitioned out. Some of us played longer than others,
some of us at a short extent. But I think one of the things that I wanted to do in this space was be more intentional, you know, just reaching out talking to guys, like we said, just finding out where they are in their lives at the moment, and how can we as a league help impact their lives? And how can we make a difference in their lives
with whatever they have going on, you know. And one of the things that were so cool was, and Tracy can attested this, she gave me a long list of guys because before I ever came into this role, I told Tracy like, listen, I do not answer emails. I hate it. I literally got like eighty thousand emails and I hate answering emails. And we were just trying to figure out why guys were not taking advantage of some of the things that they earned. Right, So guys were
like me, they wasn't really checking their emails. So I got on the phone, called about maybe four hundred guys I think, and just had conversations and just talking to him and man, it was so cool to just catch up with guys that I hadn't talked to in three or four or five years, UM and just like get to see, you know, some of the things that we can help them with, some of the things that they
can even help me with. As I was getting ready because I had just made the transition um out of the NFL and became a retired player into the legend space. So man, I always tell people all the time that this is the biggest fraternity that you can never become a part of. And knowing that no matter what, we always have each other's back. That's what the NFL is when somebody talked to me about it, That's what the
NFL is about. We go out and we compete against each other weekend and week out, but when it's all said and done, we are on the same team. We all know as players, players move, games, plans change, You have to adapt ramon inside of nationwide and the relationship with the NFL. Tell me it started off as something in two thousand and fourteen, but through all the social unrest and everything. Tell me how you as a company adapted. Yeah, it's uh. We we've all had to adapt over the
last couple of years, especially UH. And what we found was that the work that we do in the community, UH and the work that we were doing to support social justice was not enough. And so what more could we do? What additional partners can we align with? How can we support um organizations such as the Bail Project for instance, which many may not have ever heard of.
But how could a company, a fortune financial services company get behind some resources and opportunities and organizations that ordinarily don't get the light of day. How can we partner more with the nominee for the Walter Peyton Manner of the Year UH and put more resources behind and put more social than digital weight behind it to shine a light again on the work that you guys are doing. What more can we do to proof that we're more
than just a business? And so it was a unique opportunity to have that conversation that prior to you know, the last couple of years, we might not have been open to partnering with the Bail Project or a variety of others that again many may not have heard of. And so it just forced us to kind of look in the mirror to say we can do more. And so we've done so and it's it's been an honor being able to do that. We're going to close out on a couple of questions Troy and ramon speaking to
future partners and partners. Let's talk about the mindset between the league, the players, the clubs and sponsors and community. How does all this work together so that we all win? Troy, I would just start with reminding ourselves that we're all a community of care. We can create a community of care amongst each other. So I would I would challenge this grouping in particularly rainy when we leave from here.
There's so much power and influence in this room. How about at some of these tentpole events where you have this network, this partner's summit, maybe we should create a community event that we can do together, take five or six hours that we as partners, that we can go out.
You know. The one thing that still bothers me and I'm maybe getting a little bit off of, but I think it goes back to this community of care that that's driven by by the partners is sometimes often the times when we have these tentpole events, they are in places of extreme poverty mm hmm. And to walk past people that are homeless, um that are sick. I go to this beautiful stadium in Inglewood, California. Yeah, and just one block from that stadium it looks like a war zone.
We can do better. We can do better in this room. We just can't walk past these things, young women and children that don't have homes. Maybe we just spend five or six hours during the community build so maybe we can organize our thoughts again, what can we do together as a group. We're getting together, we're coming down in these big cities, and guess what, one mile from where we're meeting, less than one mile there is extreme poverty,
there's extreme distress. That we can just put on our T shirts, our T shirts and shorts and whatever that may be, and let's just spend six hours just loving on someone and they can't give us back anything in return. That's what I would say to that. Let me kind of jump in on that too, And I mean, I love that idea. I'll be one of the first to volunteer to be a part of anything that comes from what you just said, Troy, because I understand, like I said, that there's a need and there's a lot that we
can all do. Right we were sitting in this space with sitting in this room right now, and there's so many people that wish not only that they had the seeks that we're sitting in, but they had to seeks that you guys are sitting in as well. So I want to issue another challenge. Find out what it is, find out what that need is, find out what you can do. It doesn't have to be in the l A, it can be in any community. It can be in
your community. I'll volunteer for your community. I'll come in. Um, whatever you guys decide that you want to do, I'll come in and I'll and I'll help out with that as well. Um, because I'm all about I'm all about being impactful and doing things and putting action behind words. So if you have things that you think that you want to do, that you know you want to do to make your communities better, I'll be one of the first former players players to volunteer to come help you out.
We're gonna finish with that. And what I encourage you to do is I encourage you to partner with the National Football League. This is the only job that I've ever done. I don't have a college degree, and I don't have any regrets. In the last two years when the world was that it's absolute worst our players and because the partners like Ramana nationwide, we're at their absolute best. I hope you enjoyed the draft, Hope you enjoy the rest of the week, enjoy the rest of the festivities.
Scott Chris, well done, Thank you, Panne, Andrew Thomas, Troy Ramon, Chris, thank you for that. The old cliche what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Let's turn it on its head here, what what just happened in Vegas? Whatever spark of inspiration you and I just received from these gentlemen, may it extend well beyond Vegas in the days ahead. Thanks for
joining us on the NFL Players Podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and follow at NFL Players Podcast on Instagram for the latest player stories and to connect with the NFL Players community.