There are five former NFL players who are running for election or re-election today and hoping to ignite change within their communities.

Anthony Gonzalez is running for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in the 16th district of Ohio. The former Colts wide-receiver is running as a Republican after five seasons in NFL where he caught seven career touchdowns for Indianapolis. After his time in the NFL Gonzalez graduated with his MBA from Stanford and moved back to Northeast Ohio with his wife, Elizabeth. You can find more information on Gonzalez’ first campaign here.

Results: Gonzalez won a seat in the House for the 16th district of Ohio defeating Susan Moran Palmer.

Napoleon Harris is running as a Democrat in Illinois, where he hopes to continue representing Illinois’ 15th district in the State Senate. Harris was a dual-sport athlete at Northwestern, playing basketball and football. He then went on to play seven seasons as a linebacker in the NFL with the Raiders, Vikings, and Chiefs. Harris’s best season came in 2007 with Kansas City when he accounted for 82 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and an interception. Harris has held the State Senate seat for Illinois 15th district since 2013, and you can find more information on his campaign here.

Results: Harris ran unopposed and will continue to serve the 15th district in the State Senate.

Aaron Rouse is running for Virginia Beach City Counsel unaffiliated with a party. Rouse played defensive back for Virginia Tech in college before going on to play three seasons in the NFL where he picked up two interceptions in each of his first two years.  After his time in the NFL Rouse returned home and immediately got involved in the Virginia Beach community. Before running for office, Rouse started a local non-profit to serve young students in need. Click here find out more about Rouse’s campaign.

Results: Rouse won one of the two at-large Virginia Beach City Council positions.

Colin Allred is running as a Democrat for a House seat in Texas’ 32nd district. Before running for office in North Texas, Allred played Linebacker at Baylor and went on to play for five seasons with the Tennessee Titans where he had 46 combined tackles in his career. After the NFL, Allred became a civil rights lawyer and even worked as an attorney for President Obama before running for office. Find out more about his campaign here.

Results: Allred won a seat in the House representing the 32nd district in Texas outing 11-term congressman Pete Sessions.

Clint Didier is running for Franklin County Commissioner in Washington. Didier played eight seasons in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the Redskins before moving back to Washington where he farms and has a radio show. Today marks Didier’s fifth attempt at running for office after losing the previous four races he entered. Didier does not have a website with his campaign information.

Results: Didier won the Franklin County Commission election, his first win in five tries. He defeated Zahra Roach, a first-time candidate.

The post VOTE 2018: Former NFL Players Running for Office appeared first on The Football Girl.

Another Rams quarterback strides along the outskirts of the field. Jim Everett, now 54, walks with the exuberance of a man half his age. As he approaches me, his lack of a noticeable limp or any another other marker of debilitating health issues that often plague ex-NFLers signal that he is one of the lucky ones.

“You should have seen me this morning,” Everett chuckles when I make this observation.

It turns out his healthy veneer is all a façade. The Dana Pont, CA resident had attended rehab that morning, a regular occurrence after undergoing three shoulder surgeries in as many years. He also has a metal hip and knee issues. As for his brain, Everett comments, “Sure, you get headaches. Can you attribute that to CTE, who knows?”

To people of a certain age, Everett is most known for a stunning moment in television history when, during a 1994 interview, he leapt across a table and lunged toward host Jim Rome after Rome refused to stop calling him ‘Chris Everett.’ Of the incident Everett says, “[Rome] had his brand and actually I don’t hate it. Coming across the table at a reporter…yeah, there was probably not justification for physicality.’”

But Everett has a much larger footprint in football history as the last Rams franchise quarterback before the team moved to St. Louis in 1995.

A star at Purdue, Everett threw for 7411 and 43 touchdowns in a prolific college career and was widely considered the top QB prospect entering the 1986 draft. Yet Everett’s path was far more circuitous than Jared Goff or most quarterbacks handpicked by scouts as first round prospects.

The Houston Oilers selected him with the no. 3 overall pick, but not because they had any intended use for him, according to Everett. They were simply playing chess.

“Houston drafted me because they knew Indianapolis [who had the no. 4 pick] wanted me and they were trying to hijack them. Houston had Warren Moon, they weren’t going to draft a QB. It was part of the game back then,” says Everett.

The Colts had been so intent on drafting Everett that terms of a contract were already in place. Everett says the Oilers were offering half of that so the disgruntled rookie held out.

“I was the bad guy holding out for money. Team reporters would say I was another John Elway. I didn’t have Twitter, or all these other channels to clarify. “

Everett calls the experience the most important lesson learned in his career. “It made me realize the business of football before I even started.”

Green Bay and San Francisco attempted to trade for Everett, but in September it was the Rams who won the bidding war, sending All-Pro offensive guard Kent Hill, along with two first round picks to Houston for Everett’s rights.

“We weren’t looking for a bargain,” then Rams head coach John Robinson said at the time. “But we made a dynamic move to be a major factor in the NFL for years to come.”

Everett would be a Ram for eight seasons, six of them fully as the starter. Once Everett took the reins the Rams were indeed a major factor for a couple of years, making the playoffs in 1988 and advancing to the NFC championship in 1989 in dramatic fashion.

Everett led the NFL in TD passes those two years and was also named to the Pro Bowl in 1990 back when that was still highly meaningful. But the Rams’ glory was short-lived. A downward trajectory for the team and Everett followed. Two losing seasons later, Robinson was fired in 1991. Everett’s deepest regret as a player was that he was too quiet during this period of transition.

“I know it’s part of the business, but I think I should have been more outspoken with our next coaching pick.”

The Rams hired Chuck Knox but insisted he retain offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese. Everett says Zampese and Knox were in “constant conflict” and if he could do it over he would have initially vocalized his support for Mike Holmgren, another head coaching candidate at the time, whom Everett played for at the Pro Bowl.

In hindsight Everett wishes he had been traded in 1991. Instead he muddled through three statistically poor seasons before being shipped to the Saints in 1994, just a year before then Rams owner Georgia Frontiere would ship the entire team to St. Louis where they would remain for 22 years. Everett retired in 1997 after 12 seasons and the Midwest native made Southern California his full time home. He has been an Angelo ever since.

As Everett takes in the spectacle that is a training camp practice in 2017, he marvels at the modern player. We walk past 6’7”, 333 pound offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth. “That is a mountain of a man. I didn’t see that shit when I was playing.”

It is not only the size of current players that makes Everett’s jaw drop but the vast pool of resources to evolve both their game and brand. Unlike his modern quarterbacking brethren, Everett had no marketing consultant or speech coach or nutritionist. He had no special training facility for which to spend his offseason. He is fascinated by the trends, not bitter. But the one tool he really wishes was available in the late 80’s/early 90’s: Twitter. ”I would have loved the platform to correct people in the media who misinterpret your words.“

TFG QUESTIONNAIRE WITH RAMS PUNTER JOHNNY HEKKER

Everett had no designs on using his football fame for a post-retirement career. His immediate goal was simple. Go back to school. Growing up the value of education had been so instilled in him that he wasn’t satisfied knowing his B.A. in Industrial Management from Purdue sat at the bottom of the Everett family totem pole of advanced degrees, including a doctorate earned by his father.

“I was the least educated in my family, I need to catch up,” he jokes.

Just months after retiring, Everett pursued his MBA at Pepperdine University in the stunning beach town of Malibu, California. In 2000, he started his own asset management company, which he ran for 14 years. Everett loved managing the money of others but eventually his body ached to get outside the office.

“When you are sitting there behind the computer for so long, you would like to do something else,” he says.

And his body simply ached.

“I can’t sit in a desk. I have to move around at events because I literally can’t sit.”

The transition out of the corporate world almost perfectly coincided with the Rams’ return to Los Angeles in 2016, which provided a huge sense of comfort and familiarity. The St. Louis years were odd for many former Rams, and Everett is no exception.

“A lot of us L.A. guys felt homeless. Homeless in LA,” he laughs.

Rams employees in St. Louis attempted to bridge this gap with an outreach program to Rams greats, but Everett says St. Louis never really felt like home. When Stan Kroeke announced the migration back to Los Angeles he was ecstatic for the community.

“It was like the genie just came out of the bottle. A dream come true,” Everett says. “This kid who is now 10 years old. They didn’t have a team to root for. Now it’s like ‘we just had a Ram come visit us at school.’’’

Upon returning to Los Angeles, the Rams made it an immediate priority to coalesce to its storied past. Everett instantly felt at home with the new Los Angeles Rams, and the sense of connection palpable. The ballboy during his playing days is now the equipment manager. Kevin Demoff, the Rams COO, is the son of Everett’s agent. Everett was embraced as a Rams Legend and has become a mainstay in the local football community, even dabbling in Rams pregame analysis during the preseason.

Even with the bouts of residual pain, Everett is the embodiment of California cool. Relaxed, smiling, not in a hurry. He is at peace with his life and the relatively blank easel that lies ahead. He loved the strategy and game planning aspects of football as much as being on the field but never considered a coaching career because of the toll it takes on families.

“Coaches see their kids once a week,” he says. Everett has three children (two adults, one in grade school), and Ancho, the 3-year English Shepard who travels everywhere with him. Everett is tinkering with projects here and there to stay busy but mostly relishes being in control of his life.

“Life’s had its grinds and I want to enjoy enough of it while I still can. I’m doing stuff I love which is the key to my happiness.”

The post NFL Afterlife: Former NFL QB Jim Everett Relishes Role as a Rams Legend appeared first on The Football Girl.

First up is former quarterback Caleb Hanie, predominately known for his tenure with the Chicago Bears as Jay Cutler’s backup. As a player, Hanie is most remembered for entering the 2010 NFC Championship against the Packers after Cutler sprained his MCL and backup Todd Collins suffered a shoulder injury.  Hanie’s performance that day was mixed – he led the Bears down the field for a dramatic touchdown but also threw two picks en route to a loss.

Hanie started four games the following year for an injured Cutler before being released at the season’s end. He subsequently spent various blips of time with the Broncos, Browns, Ravens and Cowboys before effectively retiring in 2014.

Now 29, Hanie has shifted his professional focus to a product that he believes can help preserve a sport that is “under attack.”

Melissa Jacobs: The Internet lists you as a free agent. But you told me earlier that you’re done. Is that the case no matter who calls?

Caleb Hanie: Yeah. I told my family that unless someone gives me a guaranteed contract, I’m done. I assume no one’s going to come out and do that.

MJ: Are you positive? It’s not like quarterbacks grow on trees.

CH:  Yeah right. Let me give you a snapshot of my last two seasons. I was in Baltimore two years ago. For eight months I dedicated everything to the team. I move there, rent a place, and have my family come back and forth to visit. So I end up spending a lot of money on travel and living expenses and there’s so much time away from my family chasing this dream.

What happened there is we get to August, and then I was released. It seemed like the plan all along. I felt a little bit used because I brought a lot of experience to the quarterback room but  I was really just an extra arm for camp. Baltimore does things the right way. That’s just commonplace in the league.

MJ: So you’re constantly having to find short-term housing, which I assume is hard in some cities, not to mention expensive?

CH: Yes, and often you have to eat your deposit. It’s all part of the deal. It would be fine if these teams would give you $40,000-50,000 as a guarantee. If you make the team it’s all worth it, of course, because you get paid more than you should. But for guys that are vested like me, I don’t expect a signing bonus but something to make it worth the time. It was fine for a while because my kids were young and we could be more flexible. But I just don’t want to do that anymore.  Every year I don’t make a team I’m not making money so the bank account goes one way.

MJ: How old are your kids now?

CH: My kids are 5 and 3. My daughter just turned five and she’ll be going to school this year.

MJ: Is there a special mentality it takes to be a successful backup?  Like do you just have to come to grips with it, because it seems like waiting for a teammate to get injured would be a pretty miserable way to exist?

CH: It’s one of the tougher jobs in all of sports. You have to be self-motivated. You’re not getting the rewards of playing in the game and the stuff that coming along with that, but you’re doing the same amount of work, if not more, than the guy who’s starting the games. You have to be selfless and have a huge amount of patience.

MJ: Didn’t you just want to set out a trap for your starting quarterbacks?

CH: (Laughing) No, most of the time I became good friends with the starters. I always wished the best for them; at the same time I didn’t want to just be there and be their personal assistant by any means.

MJ: Speaking of your starters, tell me a good Jay Cutler story.

CH: Oh gosh. I wish I had a good one that would give Jay justice. It’s hard to get in on Jay’s good side and I kind of want to stay there.

MJ: Ok. How about something benign then like his go-to karaoke song?

CH: Well, I would say he’s somewhat of a fashionista. His closet is like an entire bedroom full of clothing, like a hundred suits. When you’re a first-round pick, you get that bug early for suits and all that kind of stuff.

MJ: And he certainly married into that world as well.

CH: Oh yeah, she’s perfect for him.

MJ: What’s your proudest accomplishment in the NFL?

CH: I would say just staying around long enough to be a vested player. It’s really hard – the average guy only plays for something like 2.9 years. The fact that I accrued those five seasons and played for seven total is my proudest accomplishment.  I wish I had more opportunities and made more of the ones I did have but I’m still proud.

MJ: Can you explain what it means to be vested?

CH: Once you get 3 years and three games, and to qualify as an accrued season you have to be on the roster for three games. You get five years of free health benefits after you’re done playing. And you get the pension – that is the big one. For me, it’s $500 for every year I played and you get that amount per month once you turn 55.  Vested players also get an annuity after 10 years.  And there are other cool benefits while playing, like if a team cuts you after Week 1 you get to collect your salary for the whole season.

MJ: Obviously concussion issues have come to light in recent years. How many did you have as a pro?

CH: I didn’t have any concussions over my career, which is crazy.  It also doesn’t help for my current business (laughing.)

MJ: Yes, let’s talk about the soft-shell head protection of RockSolid. What’s your exact role with the company?

CH:  I’m a vice-president and I also am in charge of developing the Texas market.  My buddy Joey LaRocque – we were roommates together with the Bears – designed the product and I joined in after I was done playing. I’m so passionate about what we’re doing.

MJ: Can you explain how your soft-shell helmets help the game?

CH:  We want to change the culture so players wear a soft-shell helmet and stay protected but stop wearing a traditional helmet that might cause you to be overly aggressive in a non-contact situation.  What happens, and we see it across high school, college and the NFL, is maybe a walk-through or something the day before a game, the coach will say to take off the pads but keep a helmet on to protect your head. The problem is that when someone hits me with a helmet and I have no protection, that’s a helmet to a collarbone, and a possible broken collarbone. I hit my finger on a helmet numerous times the day before a game.

[Cowboys linebacker] Sean Lee in OTAs tore his knee because they were going full speed.  That stuff can be avoided. They’re not even supposed to hitting that time of year but when guys have a facemask in front of them and a heavy helmet on their head, it’s just a mental thing.

MJ: Are you marketing your product to youth leagues in particular, the NFL or both?

CH: It’s marketed for everyone. In our vision, you need to have something to protect your head at all times, whether you have pads on or not.

We hope to be in the NFL sooner than later.  The players we’ve talked to love it. All my buddies can’t believe they didn’t think of it. That’s basically what we hear across the board from players and coaches. They think it’s the future.

MJ: You recently tweeted that the game of football was under attack. What did you mean by that? Was it at all related to Chris Borland’s retirement?

CH: That was meant to be taken literally. Long before Chris Borland, I vividly remember LeBron James tweeting last year that he wasn’t going to let his kids play tackle football.

What we’re seeing as a company in non-contact football is our numbers are growing but the overall football numbers are going down from a young age.  I feel like there’s a scared mom syndrome out there. Moms just aren’t educated about concussions and how to prevent them, so they deprive their kids of all the good things that football brings. Work ethic. Discipline. Sacrifice. Camaraderie.

Everything that’s good about football is being lost because their mom is scared of a concussion. We have people leaving the sport when we should be looking at ways to make the game safer. Our head guard isn’t the end all solution but our enhanced technology goes hand-in-hand with better coaches and more education.

MJ: What’s your favorite aspect of being involved in RockSolid? 

CH: While this is a good business for us we get to make a difference for the game that gave us so much. I definitely feel like we’re giving back to game and benefiting from it too. Five years from now when everyone’s wearing soft-shell for flag football we can look back with pride and say, ‘We helped do that.’

The post NFL Afterlife: Caleb Hanie appeared first on The Football Girl.

After being drafted in 1996 by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round, Horn was mostly a special teamer before signing with the New Orleans Saints in 2000.  He immediately catapulted onto the scene in New Orleans with 1,342 yards and 8 touchdowns that first year. Horn would earn four Pro Bowl berths as a Saint but was equally remembered for one of the most talked about end-zone celebrations of all-time: pulling out a cell phone he had hidden in the goal post.

Since retiring in 2007, Horn has morphed into a successful entrepreneur – selling a product near and dear to his heart…and stomach. He also recently obtained a provisional patent for an app that helps golfers locate their lost clubs.

In our Afterlife conversation, Horn dishes on his new career, what the city of New Orleans means to him, shares his strong feelings on Roger Goodell and much more.

MJ: Let’s talk sauce. Are you still selling your Bayou 87 sauce?

JH: I am still doing my barbeque sauce – which is my recipe – plus my smoked sausage and Cajun rub. I’m kind of under the radar because many players go into broadcasting when they retire.  I took another road – the food industry. It’s going very well; in fact, I’m in with Sysco Foods and US Foods. Once you’re with them, it kind of shoots out on its own. It took awhile to establish this. Just like football where it took awhile to become a Pro Bowler.

MJ: Yes, I remember reading that at one point during your circuitous path to the NFL that you were bought a Jerry Rice workout video to help you stay in shape?

JH: I was in shape. I had like $2-$3 dollars left to my name. I was in a Blockbuster and saw Jerry’s video for $3.00 so I decided right then and there to invest in my future and learn from the best receiver in the history of the NFL. This is when I was also working at a Bojangles Chicken.

MJ: Why were you down to your last few dollars then?

JH: I was living with my mom then and in junior college and we just had no money. When I sent money back to my little girl in Mississippi that would leave me with just about nothing.

MJ: What did you learn from Jerry in that video?

JH: Basically how to work cone drills. I sharpened up my mind and skills and it helped me stay focused on my dream to play in the NFL. That tape wasn’t bought to help me stay in shape. It helped me mold my career and stay on my path. It helped my life. It kept me out of the streets.

MJ: So then you’re off to the CFL.

JH: I played one year in the CFL. That’s an interesting story. I played for the Memphis Mad Dogs and after that year all the teams in the States folded. Once you fold, if you’re in a two-year deal, your contract automatically goes into a draft and anyone can take you. I had 1300 yards that year and was almost Rookie of the Year so I was one of the hottest tickets. The Calgary Stampeders were getting ready to draft me. However, my agent called them on draft day and threatened to sue if they put my name in the draft because they sent my contract to another person’s address on the day it had to be signed and legally I wasn’t bound to the Memphis Mad Dogs anymore.

MJ: So that’s how you made it to the NFL when you did?

JH: Exactly. Most people have no idea that I probably never would have been in the NFL if my agent hadn’t threatened to sue.

MJ: You were drafted in the fifth round by the Chiefs. How were you discovered?

JH: No one knew much about me so I was a sleeper. But Chiefs offensive coach Jimmy Raye who was from Fayetteville, where I lived, worked me out.  Jimmy went back to Marty Schottenheimer and said ‘We have a kid here who is one of the best receivers in this draft that no one knows about.’

MJ: Describe how you felt when you got the call that you had been drafted.

JH: I made a promise to myself that after all the suffering, living in the projects, that if I can touch the Kansas City grass I’m going to kiss the ground and become a household name.

MJ: Given your difficult financial upbringing, how did it feel to finally know you were going to be all right?

JH: It’s a funny feeling – I felt good for everybody else in my family. I feel like God chose me to make money. But I was also there to help anyone who needed it. If someone needed help in the grocery line, or military at a restaurant, my job was to take care of the bill.

MJ: Good for you.

JH: Just like when Hurricane Katrina came along – I don’t tell too many people what I did financially – but I felt like I owed the state of Louisiana. It was my obligation. If there was an employee who didn’t have a job, or they had to be displaced and they came across my path – or they knew someone who knew someone who knew me – they were going to get a check in the mail, their bills paid, a minivan for their kids. I was going to do whatever I had to do to take care of anyone I knew was suffering.

MJ: That’s really great. And obviously you felt a strong connection to New Orleans.

JH: Without a doubt.

MJ: When you got to New Orleans and became a national name in 2000 – your breakout season –  how did that happen. Was it the system or did something change in your regiment or mentality?

JH: It was all that, but really the city. New Orleans will embrace you will but it’s all about how the athlete embraces New Orleans back.

The city of New Orleans embraces their athletes and most of the athletes that come there don’t understand the struggle, what people have gone through the last 20 years. Louisiana is so home grown that they will take anyone that will help a franchise and put them on a pedestal that no one can knock them down from.  If you’re an athlete and you get off the plane cocky, treat it like a stop that you’ll be for a little while, they’ll chew you up and spit you out.

MJ: So that mindset was a prominent factor in your rise?

JH: The motivation was people didn’t like the Saints. When teams played the Saints they knew it was a win. The disrespect the other teams had for the Saints is what fueled me.

Here’s something you may not know. When NFL players go to the Pro Bowl, they do this thing where they exchange helmets. When I went to the Pro Bowl I didn’t give my helmet to anyone because I know they didn’t really want it and so I didn’t want them to have it.  That’s how much New Orleans meant to me.

There was a guy, the third year I went to the Pro Bowl, the kicker David Akers and he said to me, ‘Joe, I know not many people ask for a Saints helmet but will you give me yours and I’ll give you mine?’ That was one of the most exciting times I had going to Hawaii because I hate flying.

MJ: But you made that trip, what, four times?

JH: Yeah, I made it four times but canceled twice because I hate to fly.

MJ: So you called up the league office and said ‘Sorry no Pro Bowl for me – I don’t want to fly?’

JH: Well, I didn’t really tell them that. I just made up an excuse.

MJ: What about all the flying you had to do in season?

JH: I took Ambien pills all the time. That’s why I like Madden. He didn’t fly. I had my bus take me around too. My driver would drive, for instance, to Nashville if we were playing the Titans and wait for our plane to get there. If we beat the Titans, my coach would let me take my bus back home.

MJ: So you had the Horn Cruiser?

JH: I still have it in Laurel, Mississippi and my driver, James Perkins just waits on me to call. I’m not going to get in it to go golf – it’s like $500 to fuel up. But If I go somewhere – like I’m going to Vegas this week because I’m now the spokesperson for Joyner Compression Socks – I’ll consider taking it.

MJ: Onto one of your other “products” – the cell phone. Did you actually call someone after you scored?

JH: I called my son, Jaycee. It was a Sunday Night game against the Giants but my kids had to go school Monday and of course I usually don’t get home until 12 or 1 in the morning.  So they couldn’t go. And my son, who was like 6 at the time, was crying as I walked out the door.  I said, ‘I’ll call you.’

That was a big year for end zone celebrations with T.O. and Chad and myself and I just decided that I was going to shut this end zone celebration stuff down.

Mike McCarthy, our offensive coordinator had me in on something like nine of the first fifteen plays. Aaron Brooks didn’t know anything about it. Jim Haslett didn’t know anything about it. No one knew I was going to do this except for Michael Lewis who put the phone in the end zone I told him to put it in.

MJ: Do you watch games regularly these days?

JH: Oh yeah. And I keep up on all the news.

MJ: What are your thoughts on the current state of the NFL?

JH:  Can I be honest?

MJ: Of course.

JH: Here’s what I don’t like. I don’t like what Roger Goodell is doing. He has so much power that he can almost shut people down. I just don’t like him. And I don’t like  that on draft day these kids don’t know that they’re hugging the devil. I hate to see kids that are lost and then happy but they really don’t know that the man they’re hugging will rip their throat apart.  If he has an opportunity to take money from them, or there’s a situation where they’re guilty before they go to court, he’ll rip them apart. And there’s nothing no one can do about it. If the owners are happy with Roger Goodell, the fans, the media, no one can take his job from him. I hate it.

MJ:  Is it mostly the fines? His commissionership has obviously been rooted in being an authoritarian.

JH: The owners gave him that power. He doesn’t work for the players.

MJ: Yeah, but the players gave him power to continue to operate under the clause that makes him judge and jury. It’s ridiculous that he’s the one hearing Tom Brady’s appeal but his right to do so is protected under the CBA.

JH: First of all, people need to understand he works for the owners and understands his power. People like Cris Carter and Chris Berman ,who can usually say what they want, they can’t say anything bad about Roger Goodell or he’ll cut their throats.

They’re going to kiss his ass, too. They know their job could be snatched away by his power. This man makes what, $14 million a year?

MJ: Actually, over $40 million a year.

JH: C’mon! And the whole Brady thing, I’m not mad at Tom. He’s a great athlete and he does what he needs to do to win the football game. If he deflated balls and the guys did for him, I’m not mad at Tom for that. Guys do things all the time to get ahead that the NFL doesn’t know about.

Who I’m mad at, who I do disrespect and who should be suspended for a year, it should be his head coach because he knows what everyone is doing.

MJ: Interesting. Well, in closing I just want to throw a few things out there and have you give me a one or two word response that comes to mind.

JH: Ok, sounds good.

MJ: Who’s the best WR in the game today?

JH: Can I give you two?

MJ: Of course

JH: Roddy White and Marques Colston

MJ: Toughest defensive player you faced?

JH: [Former Kansas City Chiefs cornerback] Dale Carter

MJ: Aside from your cell phone celebration, the second best TD celebration?

JH: When I scored on Terence Newman. There were “We Love the Troops” signs all over Cowboys Stadium because it was during Iraq. I pointed at the sign and walked over and hugged it.

MJ: One word or a few words to describe the current state of the NFL

JH: All about the money.

MJ: What will you be doing in 10 years?

JH: I’ll be a regular shark on Shark Tank.

The post NFL Afterlife: Joe Horn appeared first on The Football Girl.

I recently chatted with Brown about the ups and downs of his career, the current NFL, the dream job he now holds and the other dream job that could be on the horizon.

MJ: I see you’re from Arizona but you now live in Southern California.

MB: That’s right. I live in San Clemente where it’s basically 75 degrees every day.  I love it here. It’s laid back and I can just be a regular guy.

MJ: Why Southern California, in particular?

MB: My wife and I are from Scottsdale. So with my mom and my stepdad, we used to come out to San Diego all the time. I was like, ‘If I ever get a chance to move to Southern California, I have to do it.’

When we were going through the process of moving we just found this quaint little surfer town about 60 miles north of San Diego.

MJ: So what are you up to these days?

Basically I call myself a house husband. My wife, Erin, and I have been together since high school; we understand each other and we would talk about we were going to do when I couldn’t play anymore. I told her, ‘When I’m done, it’s all you. Whatever you want to do. I’ll hold down the fort.’  She has a lot of businesses going on, including running a restaurant n Arizona. She’s a grinder and she works so hard. She’s amazing.

MJ: How old are your kids?

MB: I have a daughter who will be 10 in August and my son is 7.

MJ: So what’s harder – being a house husband or playing football?

MB: Oh, definitely the kids. Being a dad, you’re trying to make them you, at least in terms of the things you feel are important. I love it. It’s very challenging because you get frustrated. But I have two kids who are really awesome and I’m excited to watch them grow up.

MJ: You were always a fan favorite in Chicago. How connected are you still with the city? How often do you get back?

MB: I’m not connected in terms of being there but I’ll always be a Chicago Bear. It’s given me the life that I’m enjoying right now. I owe it all to that organization and the city of Chicago. That city and sports, the whole vibe is really cool.  If you’re a professional player, I don’t care what sport you’re playing, you have to love it because they’re behind you 1000%

MJ: Now you were drafted in 2000, the second man the Bears took after Brian Urlacher. How was your relationship with Brian from the outset? Did you have any understanding that you would be two important cogs on what would turn into the league’s best defense?  

MB: I had no idea that was going to happen. The first time I saw him – he’s a tremendous athlete. My view – and I’ve said this before – is that I had the best seat in the house being right behind him [on the field].

Brian was my first roommate and we got along great from the start. He was the best teammate I ever had.  It was awesome to play with that guy – just the best football player I’ve ever played with.  And with all the notoriety he got and what he did for his team, he was a special athlete but an even better teammate.

MJ: After starting almost every game your first four seasons, you were injured a lot.  Talk about the mentality of always trying to overcome pain.  

MB: When you play football, pain is part of the process. I think it was Mark Schlereth who said, ‘It’s not about being hurt or injured; you have to play injured.’ There’s so much that goes on to do what these guys do. Just give the best effort and see what happens. That was my philosophy. I went out there and did everything I could do.

MJ: You sound very zen about it.

MB: Yeah. It’s not just about football; it’s anything in life. You just do the best you can and if it works out, awesome. But sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t work out, it sucks. You cry. It hurts emotionally and all that stuff. When I look at it now, I’m like, ‘ Dude, you’re living in Southern California.’  At the time it sucks, but in the grand scheme of life it’s not that bad.

MJ: You were sidelined when the Bears played in the 2006 Super Bowl. I imagine that was a time that hurt emotionally.

MB: Devastating. That’s the game. When I think about it, I wish I could have played. But I didn’t and I can’t. When I look back on my career, playing in that game is the one thing I wish I could have done.

MJ: Do you still experience physical pain from playing?

MB: I definitely think I have a little more pain than the average person. But overall I’m fine. My head is fine – I get that checked out constantly.  Like I tell my wife all the time, ‘soccer has more concussions than football.’ Here in California, skateboarding is big and kids fall down all the time.

Football has taught me a lot and given me the opportunity to meet people I never would have otherwise. It gives a dynamic to a person that’s hard to explain unless you’ve been part of it. I think that’s why you see football players get defensive about things because it’s a small fraternity of guys.

MJ: Let’s talk current NFL a bit. How has the emergence of more athletic, tight ends that are integral to offensives affected safety play? Is the required skill set different now?

MB: Yeah, actually there is no safety play. Big corners basically. The physicality of the safety position has been taken out, and it’s probably necessary for the safety of players and everything. These safeties now have the figure out a different way to play defense. What you’re seeing if super athletic tight ends and receivers and they’re going to dominate the game until coaches can figure out a way to stop them.

MJ: I scrolled through your tweets and you are particularly awesome during Bears games. It’s almost like you’re a fan now, except with spot on commentary. How would you gauge the Bears for this year?

MJ: I’m super excited about it. They got a coach that is awesome. It starts at the top, so if they let him coach it will be sweet. Love that he’s a defensive guy and everything I’ve heard about him has been outstanding.

MJ: Do they have enough pieces to be a playoff team?

MB: You never know. Aaron Rodgers, to me, is the best quarterback in the league and they have to go beat him. Only time will tell.

MJ: How would you describe the current state of the NFL?

MB: It is what it is. It’s the best league going in the United States. I think it gets some unfair scrutiny just because of the money involved. Overall, the people in the league are good guys. All ex-players I know are good dudes and doing great. The negative gets the media clicks and a guy that’s doing great in life isn’t sexy. The guys I know had their lives changed by the NFL so I only have good things to say.

MJ: OK, let me conclude with a few quick-hit questions. What was your favorite moment in the NFL?

MB: To be honest, it was going to the Super Bowl. The whole thing, getting mass security guys, and just understanding how big it was was really cool. And second to that was being behind Brian playing. I had the best seat in the house.

MJ: Who’s the best current defensive back?

MB: I’m going to have go with Earl Thomas. He does a lot.

MJ: Best defensive back of all time?

MB: I’m going to have to say Ronnie Lott. Deion Sanders is in the conversation but I have to say Lott.

MJ: What do you see yourself doing in five years?

MB: Actually, I have a coaching internship I’m getting ready to start. I’ve always wanted to coach so I’m excited. We’ll see what happens.

MJ: With? 

MB: The Carolina Panthers. I get a chance to go out and see how the grind is. Coach Rivera, my coach in Chicago, is an awesome coach and he offered to have me come out.

The post NFL Afterlife: Mike Brown appeared first on The Football Girl.

Yet it was the cumulative effects of those years – especially the numerous undiagnosed concussions, according to Turley –  that have led him to the strange, frightening world for which he now resides. Despite the support system loving wife and two kids, Turley has suffered multiple seizures, considered suicide and rarely feels like himself. According to doctors, Turley’s grim future possibly includes early dementia and Alzheimer’s, markers for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

Through music, social media and frequent public appearances, Turley is fighting back best he can: by trying to illuminate the science behind brain injuries, a task he is starkly critical of the NFL for not leading.

In the conversation that follows, we discuss Turley’s music as therapy, his current symptoms, the NFL as a culprit and what his future holds.

Warning: This interview contains offensive language.  

MJ: Your music website calls you an “outlaw country artist.” What does that mean?

KT: Not a pop country singer. My music is called outlaw, I’m not sure why. I guess because it’s original. I thought that was what music was supposed to be. The context of my music is controversial and I guess it’s just country music and not the whole cowboy stupidity.

MJ: How did you get involved in music?  Did you take lessons, or are you self-taught?

KT: I’ve never taken any lessons. I don’t know how to read music. I can play the guitar and drums pretty well. I just find if you sit down and focus you can pretty much do anything. Nowadays, you have YouTube to help as well.

MJ: That’s true. I learned a little conversational French on YouTube.

KT: Yeah, there’s really no reason to pay schools thousands of dollars anymore.

MJ: Who are some of your musical influences?

KT: I grew up with a lot of old school country. My dad was a truck driver and farmer so I grew up with a lot of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and all those guys. We moved to Southern California when I was ten and the early 90’s were a boom of music here. Everything was new. Punk rock was becoming famous. The rap scene exploded. Reggae was a big part of my life.

My influences span a lot of genres. New school rap and new school country is a bunch of bullshit. What’s real are the real stories. My rap influence is N.W.A. because I connected with those guys.

MJ: A LOT of your music seems to be framed by your experiences in the NFL. Your label is Gridiron Records. Your newest album is called Skull Shaker.  How therapeutic is it for you to express your experiences in musical form?

KT: That’s been a big savior for me personally. With the post-traumatic brain injury situation, that’s been a huge outlet. Probably the number one way for me to get my mind right.

MJ: How has the NFL reacted to your music?

KT: Well, they don’t support it at all. The thing about my stories and music, it’s all good. I’ve had ESPN use my music. Once. It was olive branch extended. Then I said some things about the NFL and that olive branch got taken away.

The NFL probably doesn’t like my message about football and they haven’t supported it at all. You’d think that having an athlete who can do such a crossover would be beneficial to them and they’d want to capitalize, but I’ve definitely written a couple of songs they don’t appreciate.

MJ: I guess the NFL won’t be enlisting you to perform at the rookie symposium any time soon.

KT: Well, they should. I can help their players out a lot and give them a bit of reality and help them with their futures. But instead the NFL would rather bring in guys who are going to tell them how to invest and lose their money down the road for them, not give them the actual information they need.

MJ: How are you feeling these days?

KT: Like shit. I’m not where I thought I’d be. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t do drugs anymore. Well, what I call drugs is really a lot of prescription drugs the NFL gave me. Body wise, it all hurts. And because of the neuro-damage that’s been caused I have a lot of issues I deal with daily which are quite a struggle.

MJ: What are your symptoms and how do they affect your day-to-day life?

KT: Ever since my last concussion, the result of which was me passing out in public out of nowhere – I had a seizure and spent three days in the hospital – there’s been a waterfall effect. At least cognitively. There are some memory loss issues that are growing. A lot of issues dealing with rage and emotions as well.

But the thing is over the last 5-6 months, I weaned myself of all the prescription drugs so I’m kind of optimistic about my future. I’ve found being in California there are various strains of marijuana that are doing some good things so I’m starting to get my life back. I’m starting to feel like me again.

But it’s a slow road and the damage that’s been done is definitely not a quick fix, and I don’t know if it can ever be fixed. It’s really a struggle. It’s all smoke and mirrors because on the outside I look great. I eat well, work out, I do everything I can to ensure that I stay healthy, but beneath it all is just an arduous struggle to maintain.

MJ: How has your family dealt with the shift in your mental health?

KT: ‘Committed’ is what I can say. My wife is a saint and an angel for me. There’s no reason for me to still be married to her and it’s not because of infidelity. I’ve given her every opportunity and plenty of reason to walk. She’s been more than my rock in helping me through all this.  I don’t what my future holds – though doctors seem to think I’m headed down the path where I have dementia and Alzheimer’s in my future – but my family is committed.

I’m on a big mission to help progress some science in to how to deal with this injury and hope that leads to some cures, some medicines out there that will change the way we deal with brain injuries. And ultimately change the outcomes in these cases.

MJ: You’ve recently criticized the media for not demanding more answers from the NFL regarding player health and safety. But look at the two biggest players. NFL Network is an extension of the league and ESPN, coincidental or not, has recently neglected to renew the contracts of its two most prominent Goodell critics. What is realistic for coverage at this point?

KT: That just speaks to who’s in charge of those networks. They’re just pussies, to be honest. There’s no backbone whatsoever. These individuals are allowing kids to die every year in youth football by not talking about the serious nature of these injuries. They’re allowing professional football players to commit suicide continuously by not talking about these things. And the NFL gets to just run from all these issues. They’re just afraid they’re going to scare people. They look at dollars, not saving lives. They have had opportunities over and over to address these issues. I don’t get it.

Since we’ve had this settlement, they’ve allowed it to go away. There are still hang-ups with the settlement, and meanwhile guys are dying from horrific diseases because these courts are not allowing sensibility to dictate what happens to NFL football players.

MJ: Junior Seau is getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a few weeks. How do you think you’ll feel when you see his bust but not him?

KT: It’s going to be a great moment but it’s going to be quite sobering to a lot of people who are into football. Drinking, losing his money, whatever these people are going to say about Junior, it wasn’t the case. It was the brain issue.

Those who care to be informed know what can happen to our brains as football players. It’s going to be hard for parents to explain to their kids when they ask why Junior isn’t there. That’s where the media has gone astray when they give reasons why it occurred that have more of a voice than the real reason it occurred.

MJ: You’d think that if Junior Seau’s suicide doesn’t incite anger and provoke questions, nothing will.

KT: Again they’ve got every TV station in their pocket so you won’t get the full story as to what happened. Viewers won’t know how the NFL failed him. They’ll do amazing things with everything else about his life but they won’t talk about how information about brain injuries was kept away from us so we couldn’t deal with it.

When I hurt my ankle or a leg, I knew I could recover if I dedicated myself. I knew the path. We didn’t have that opportunity with the brain injuries.

Kids aren’t going to stop dying. You’re going to have another 10-20 kids die from brain injuries this year. You’ve got President Obama talking about how if we can do whatever it takes to save one life, then it’s worth it. All you have to do is tell kids they shouldn’t play tackle football until they’re 13 and you’re likely going to save 10-20 lives this year. We don’t have to not play football. We can play flag football and do other things in football. Getting kids ready to play the sport vs. throwing them out with pads. We’ve created all these things around football about being tough and macho to reassure us of our manhood, and meanwhile we’re losing it.

MJ: I’m by no means a defender of The Shield but I will say the league is taking a few steps like partnering with USA Football for Mom’s Clinics to teach about safe tackling and putting more resources behind flag football. Is the NFL doing anything right?

KT: Yes, in little ways. But they’re the NFL; they can do things in big ways. Let’s call it what it is and progress with science and innovation and let’s get real about this. Kids’ brains are developing. This year my kid went to kindergarten and everything was great until he came home with a sheet of paper to sign up for Pop Warner football. What the hell? I guess they’re afraid kids won’t want to play football anymore if they don’t rein them in from age 6. I don’t understand.

I just don’t think the NFL is doing enough. They’re not helping the game progress because they’re giving people false hope. You can’t replace helmets. You can’t do anything about the fact that when you come to an abrupt halt because you’re being hit your brain is moving around like a ping-pong ball.

MJ: I assume you’re not letting your son sign up.

KT: He won’t play until he’s in high school. I’m following the science, which says kids shouldn’t play until then. If the NFL could accept this, football would be a lot better off.

MJ: Where do you see the NFL in, say, ten years?

KT: That’s interesting. The suicide rate amongst NFL players will continue to climb. They continue to run from that issue. Meanwhile, football is dying.  Who knows? It could be like boxing and you can have another sport that will come along and thrill everybody and the NFL will be forced to take a back seat. People in mass numbers may start not wanting their children to play.

MJ: And what about you? What are you doing in ten years?

KT: Hopefully I’m still alive. That’s not a joke. I hope I don’t do anything fucking crazy or kill myself.

I hope that in ten years I find the progression of relieving myself from all these prescription drugs they gave me will lead to me facing my own problems and help a lot of guys at the same time. I’m starting to get my life back so I really hope I’m still here.

The post NFL Afterlife: Kyle Turley appeared first on The Football Girl.

Former NFL tight end Jake Ballard is a classic example of how short-lived an NFL career can be. Make no mistake, Ballard experienced glory in four seasons. He sports a Super Bowl ring, which he earned as the starting tight end for the New York Giants who beat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. But it was that game – on the world’s biggest stage– where Ballard suffered an ACL tear that derailed a promising career.

Ballard had subsequent stints with the Patriots (yes, catching balls from Tom Brady) and Arizona Cardinals but he never felt the same and decided to retire in August of 2014. An Ohio State product, Ballard, 27, now resides in Columbus and has just embarked on a new career that while vastly different from the NFL, also requires a unique brand of hustle.

We touched on a variety of topics, including his name doppelganger from Scandal.

Melissa Jacobs: Before we get into your afterlife, please describe what it’s like to catch soft balls from Tom Brady?

Jake Ballard: [Laughing.] I never thought they were any different from any quarterback.

MJ: Fair enough. When the punishment was handed down you were pretty livid on social media. Now that you’ve had a couple of days to digest it, what’s you current level of anger?

JB: I still think four games is a little much. I was at the right place at the right time. I had just got home and the punishment popped up on my TV so I thought I’d hit the Twitter and see if I could get anybody riled up.

I understand where the commissioner is coming from since Tom wasn’t very cooperative with the investigation. At the same time to issue the same suspension as players who failed drug tests, popped PEDs. I just think it’s totally different.

MJ: On the spectrum of crimes it is pretty low.

JB: Absolutely. I thought maybe two games max. A quarter of the season, especially for a guy that while he’s at the prime of his game and just won the Super Bowl, you don’t know how many years he has left. I’m definitely interested to see what happens with the appeal.

MJ: Since this interview is about you, let’s talk actually about you. When you retired, you issued an eloquent statement, part of which read, “Having a quality of life after football is very important to me and I have witnessed it taken away from others.” Explain what you were fearful would happen to you.

JB: Being around football all my life and in the NFL, you see older guys in the facility or at functions throughout the year.  Sometimes they’re not much older than you or maybe your dad’s age and they’re 5-10 surgeries in – bad knees, can barely walk. Some have hip implants or knee implants and some people have head issues.

I was at the point where I was in so much pain that was all I could think about. Waking up every morning with pain, I just wasn’t enjoying the game I used to love.  I did that for a while and it became too much. At the time I was 26, no kids. I still don’t have kids, but when I do I can’t imagine not being able to play with them in the yard or show them how to pick up a basketball, throw a baseball or catch a football.

MJ: That’s interesting. As we become more enlightened to the effects of all injuries, do you feel like more guys may follow suit and not hang on as long as they can?

JB: I don’t know. If I couldn’t be at 100% with my knee, I felt like I was more susceptible to hurting other things, including my head.

I think guys should look at their future more than they do but it’s hard to turn down the money, and playing a game for your job is a fantasy world, so I see both sides.

MJ: Can you describe the feeling when you went down in the Super Bowl? Did you know right away?

JB: I was running around and I had my future teammate Brandon Spikes guarding me. I was cutting inside and he was kind of pushing me from behind. I was going in and he was going out and my foot just kind of got stuck in the turf. It was quick little turn. I knew something was wrong. It was a quick pain but it definitely felt off. I didn’t really know it was an ACL at the point. Trainers checked it out and thought maybe it wasn’t my ACL – that it could be my meniscus.  They taped me up and had me do some tests on the sidelines and that’s when I got hurt worse.

MJ: That’s very sad. Were you still able to celebrate being a Super Bowl champion?

JB: We just won the Super Bowl. It was my second year in the NFL. I started all year and it was kind of my coming out party. The Super Bowl was in Indianapolis, two and a half hours from my hometown, so all of my buddies and family were there.

I’m on crutches, not knowing what’s going on with my knee, how serious it is. I was trying to enjoy the night and eventually I did, but that was a lot for a 24-year old to think about.

MJ: How much do you miss football?

JB: I miss it every day. Not just the playing but being around the guys. You have more motivation to go out and run and lift when you’re thinking about the upcoming season.

MJ: Now you have quite an interesting new career twist. How did you decide to become a real estate agent?

JB: I’ve always had an interest in the housing market. I worked on houses when I was in college and flipped a couple in the past year and a half.  I feel like being a real estate agent is a very lucrative business. It’s one of those things that what you put in is what you get out. If you bust your butt and treat people the right way and look out for them, it will work out

MJ: I just closed on a house a couple of weeks ago in New York. I love the agent we used but found the process of finding her difficult. What traits do you think make for the best agent?

JB: You want someone who will look out for your best interests and someone who will help you not find a house just to live in but a house to love. You don’t want them to always be selling you something. You want them to be working the hardest when you’re not right there. And you want someone you can be comfortable with, someone who can become a friend down the line.

MJ: How’s the market in Columbus these days?

JB: Really good. Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It’s a good time to be here.

MJ: I would think anyone who wants a house in the area would instantly be drawn to the former Buckeye and NFL player as opposed to the Joe Schmoe who didn’t play football.

JB: I just started about three weeks ago. I think that definitely helps. I have a large network of people I know and it’s been a lot fun reaching out and reconnecting.

MJ: Onto more important matters. At some point in your career – probably about two years ago – you became America’s second most famous Jake Ballard. Do you watch Scandal?

JB: I don’t, and that guy’s ruined my life.

MJ: How so?

JB: No, he hasn’t. But I do get a lot of ‘Jake Ballard, like the TV show?’ And I have to let them know that I’m the real Jake Ballard.

MJ: Are you tempted to watch?

JB: No, I’m more of a How To Get Away With Murder type of guy

MJ: That’s so funny. You picked one of the other Shonda Rhimes Thursday night options. But you know the deal with the Jake Ballard character, right?

JB: Yeah, what he’s the Captain or something?

MJ: Sorta. It’s very complicated. It’s funny because he’s been on for about a season longer than he should have simply because Scott Foley fills the eye candy quotient. It’s actually ridiculous.

JB: I thought he died and I got really happy and even tweeted that Captain Jake Ballard died on Scandal.

MJ: It was a big tease. He was presumed dead and now he’s not.

JB: What is this, South Park? He can’t just come back to life.

MJ: C’mon, you watch another Shonda show. I assume she does crazy things with her characters on How To Get Away With Murder.

JB: Oh, that show is so good. You just really need to watch.

MJ: Really? Ok. I’ll try. Well, in closing, I’m just going to fire off some quick questions which you can answer with one or two word answers.

Toughest QB you played with?

Eli

Toughest coach you played for?

Coach Coughlin

In 10 years the NFL will be America’s number (blank) sport.

#1 for sure

One word to describe Roger Goodell.

Even-keeled

Favorite movie of all-time

Count of Monte Cristo

Best job in the NFL

Kicker

Where you see yourself in 10 years

In Columbus with a nice family

The post NFL Afterlife: Jake Ballard appeared first on The Football Girl.

Thomas Jones is just one of those special people who make it seem easy.  In a league that inhales running backs and spits them out five seconds later, Jones carved out a consistently stellar, relatively injury-free career that spanned a whopping twelve seasons. Drafted by Arizona in 2000 as the no. 7 overall pick, Jones went on to play for the Bucs, Bears, Chiefs and Jets, finding success everywhere he landed. From 2005-2009, Jones finished with at least 1,100 rushing yards per season, and remarkably, didn’t miss a game in his final six seasons.

Retired since 2012, Jones now goes by the more sophisticated moniker, Thomas Q. Jones, a testament to his new life as an actor, where he’s found almost instant success. He’s landed parts on Shameless, fulfilled many an actor’s dream by playing Gabrielle Union’s love interest in Being Mary Jane and this Sunday will headline the television film, Runaway Island on TV One.

We chatted about both of his careers.

Melissa Jacobs: You are quickly amassing an impressive acting resume. How did the transformation from athlete to actor come about?

Thomas Q. Jones: When I retired I had 8-9 months where I was a confused space. I played football since I was six and then it was over. You can only play for so long. If you’re an artist, you can play forever. You can’t be a lifelong football player. It’s impossible.

Again. I was really in this confused space. I always had ambitions of taking over a music/entertainment company so I went that route. I was landing artists. I was producing music with artists, but I wasn’t the artist. As a football player, I’m the talent. As a manager, you are relying on everyone else’s hard work and dedication to be successful and that just wasn’t something I was used to. I had started to produce a television series in Miami and added films to my company. Then I started working with Clifton Powell, the great actor who’s been in a lot of projects over the years. He encouraged me to act and told me I was a natural.

MJ: What has been the biggest challenge for you so far in the crossover?

TQJ: Having to move to L.A. because I’m from the East Coast. It has its perks, but all my friends are on the East Coast. Sometimes I get a little homesick because everything is different out here. Especially the culture. I was never a fan of L.A. I like my Timberlands. Here, I’m supposed to trade them in for some Chuck Taylors.

From a professional standpoint, everything has been great. I’ve been fortunate to work with some major players early in my career. Because it’s all happened so fast, I’ve had a quick intro into Hollywood as an actor. It can take people years to work next to a Gabrielle Union or Paul Giamatti and I’ve been able to do those things in the first two years of my career. It’s made the transition much easier.

MJ: You’re not the only athlete who wanted to become an entertainer, and many entertainers dream of becoming professional athletes. Do people on the set want to talk football with you?

TQJ: Yes. I never watched much television because to be a successful professional athlete you sometimes have to live in a bubble. For them, a lot of them are sports fans. I didn’t know who many of these people were, but they all knew me on set. With a few exceptions.

It was funny, I shot an episode of Shameless in Chicago and we were outside. Some people were coming by getting my autograph, and the director, who didn’t know I played football, he was asking me, ‘so, who are you?’

MJ: Your latest film, Runaway Island premieres July 25th on TV One. Tell me about your character, Raphael Burrows?

TQJ: He is a former NFL star and he has a relationship with a socialite. Basically my publicist and her publicist set us up together because I guess that’s what celebrities do. We’re together because it’s going to help our brand but we actually end up catching feelings for each other.

MJ: Sounds fun. Onto the NFL. Running backs have an average playing career of 3 years. You played for 12 years – and correct me if I’m wrong – without a major injury?

TQJ: Nothing major, no, but a lot of these minor injures have turned into major things

MJ: What are your lingering issues?

TQJ: I have shortness of breath, trouble breathing. I have numbness in my left pinkie and left ring finger from nerve damage in my elbow. When I wake up in the morning to do anything, my knees and elbows are just cracking. It’s pretty crazy because I actually have some issues remembering things. The great thing about being an actor is that I have to remember lines and that keeps my brain active.

There are a lot of things that people don’t really understand. That’s why I’m working on this documentary called The NFL: The Gift or The Curse? I teamed up with Solaris Entertainment who did the Fab Five documentary. The teaser for our film is online.

MJ: You were well known for your strict workout regiment. How important was that dedication in the gym to your playing career as opposed to just your natural ability?

TQJ: Without my workouts I wouldn’t have been able to play so long. Not just from a physical perspective, but a mental one too. You workout when you’re tired. You workout after practice. These things continue to push you, which is basically what the game is. It all comes down to your mental toughness.

MJ: What’s a typical workout now?

TQJ: It was different when I was playing. I lost about twenty pounds. I played at 225-230, now I’m around 208-210. I don’t want to be too big because it looks awkward on camera.

I don’t lift legs as much because I don’t want to hurt my knees or ankles. And I don’t do much heavy lifting. I play a lot of basketball. I box.

I still lift biceps and triceps on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. I do chest and back on Thursday and Saturday. I do abs pretty much every day. My diet is just as important. The main thing is I don’t eat any sugar.  When we play, we run and do so many physical things but when we retire we don’t run as much because we’re not playing. A lot of guys automatically get out of shape, and I did not want to be one of those guys. I’ve always taken care of my body. I almost feel in better shape now

MJ: What was the best moment of your career?

TQJ: Probably the [2007] NFC Championship. That game, playing in Chicago in the snow, beating the Saints. I had over 100 yards and two touchdowns. I was running around like a little kid with my NFC Championship hat on. It was an amazing experience. I grew up watching Walter Payton play and to be a part of helping Chicago make it to the Super Bowl, yeah, that was the biggest moment.

MJ: The running back position has been devalued in recent years, at least in terms of the draft and fantasy football. Does the current crop of running backs get enough respect?

TQJ: I don’t think so. The league’s become more of a passing league. There are some great running backs in the NFL; unfortunately a lot of running backs are suffering, whether it’s a contract, being able to get carries or the running back by committee thing. The game’s changed.

Honestly, I don’t really watch the NFL that much anymore. I wish the guys the best but as the outside and commercial world becomes more part of the NFL, I think the game will continue to change. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it is what it is.

Photo credit: Ian Maddox

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