Latest / The Good Side of Sports Podcast / Beyond the Helmet: NFLPA Stories of Players Giving Back

Transcript

Beyond the Helmet: NFLPA Stories of Players Giving Back · The Good Side of Sports Podcast

0:13
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Good Side
0:17
of Sports Podcast, where we highlight the good being done by athletes and
0:21
organizations. I'm your host, Brian Hartong, and today's guest is
0:24
coming to us from Washington, D.C. Where you'll find an association that
0:29
supports some of the best athletes in the world in the most popular sport in
0:33
the United States. And to find out how they support these athletes in the community
0:37
is Brandon Parker, Director of Media and Community Relations
0:41
for the NFLPA. So Brandon, welcome to the show.
0:44
Thanks for having me, Brian. Appreciate it. No problem.
0:47
I'd like to start out a little to find out a little bit about you
0:50
and your role at the association. Yeah, so I've
0:54
been at the NFLPA for about 10 years now. It doesn't
0:58
seem like it's been that long, but I'm in the communications department
1:03
and currently I'm the director of media and community
1:07
relations. So kind of twofold with media relations,
1:11
what it sounds like, we're just working with the media to put
1:16
out what we do as a union to support players, the different programs and resources.
1:21
We have around CBA negotiations, our collective
1:24
bargaining agreement. That's when a lot of people see us in the news.
1:27
But still, all the work that we're doing as a union,
1:31
we want to make sure that it's visible and players see it, but it's also
1:34
accurate. And then on the community relations side, which obviously we'll
1:38
get into deeper during this conversation, but just highlighting
1:42
and supporting what players are doing off the field to help people. So I
1:45
enjoy it. It's been good. I was in sports journalism before
1:49
this. Um, so yeah, it's been, it's been a good pivot to stay
1:54
in the industry. Nice. Have you been in DC the whole time?
1:58
Uh, for at— while I'm at the NFLPA, yes. Our, like you said,
2:01
our headquarters are in DC and I'm from the DMV area
2:05
in Northern Virginia. Um, when I was in the sports journalism side, bounced around
2:10
a few different places like Connecticut, South Carolina,
2:14
back here working with the Washington Post. So yeah, it's good to
2:18
be settled back home. Nice. So as far as what you
2:22
do supporting the players in the community, is it more
2:26
of an outreach where you find things that fit for them or
2:30
are you pretty much promoting what they do?
2:33
Yeah, so it's more so the latter, promoting what they do, because I
2:38
think a narrative out there is that players
2:42
aren't— don't really care about their communities, or, you know, they can be troublemakers.
2:46
But there's just so much that goes on that, you know, goes under
2:50
the radar that players do to help their team cities,
2:54
their hometowns. Um, so we want to be a resource
2:58
and a vehicle, and one, letting people know, um,
3:01
that that's out there. And a lot of players, you know, they don't want that
3:05
attention there because they're not doing it for that. So a lot of stuff
3:08
that, you know, happens, you won't even— we don't— we're not even aware of.
3:13
But it's a lot of good work that they're doing. And then as we've
3:16
built out, you know, our community relations work and support,
3:21
we've partnered with a lot of different stakeholders and people that,
3:24
you know, are doing— also doing great work in this industry.
3:28
And we're connecting players with those partners and
3:31
organizations so they can broaden their charitable impact and
3:35
continue the great work that they're doing. Do you have any specific instances
3:41
where you've connected two together?
3:45
Yeah. So I'd say with the Community MVP program that
3:49
we were in our 13th season of doing that now, where we highlight
3:54
one player each week during the regular season who does something good
3:59
to give back to their hometown or team city. And we'll donate
4:03
$10,000 to their foundation, the union does, to help them continue
4:06
that great work. But we've built partnerships along
4:10
the way. We're in our second season working with GoFundMe,
4:15
and everybody's familiar with them as a crowdfunding platform.
4:19
But that's opened up another avenue on top of our
4:23
contribution to the Players Foundation. It's a way for fans and
4:27
the public to also contribute to their cause. That's kind of
4:31
a vehicle that we've used and connected them with GoFundMe just so if they're
4:35
doing other things that they want to raise money for, they have that
4:39
platform to do so. During COVID
4:44
which is a crazy time obviously for everybody,
4:47
we did virtual visits into classrooms
4:52
and hospitals where we work with different players to you
4:56
know, within their local team city that they could virtually,
5:00
you know, Zoom in and just encourage kids. And that led to a
5:04
lot of connections where there were schools that
5:07
kept in touch with those players' agents and marketing reps. And they, once everything
5:11
opened back up, they made, you know, visits to those actual schools.
5:16
Again, different organizations and partnerships like Sport for Impact
5:20
is one that comes to mind that a former player, Anquan Boldin, runs.
5:24
And he specifically works with athletes to help them
5:27
build out their foundations and nonprofit work, just knowing that it's a unique space
5:31
when players and athletes get involved. So we've funneled
5:35
players that way as well, just to help them figure out how they want to
5:39
impact and help the community. So a lot of good success stories
5:42
for sure. That's awesome. I know when I started this whole
5:46
thing, I wanted to bring to light what people do because
5:50
like you said, you only see them on the field. You don't know what they
5:53
do behind the scenes and they are a little hard to track down.
5:56
That's for sure. Because you're right about sometimes they don't want— they just
6:00
want to do the good work. They don't want everyone to say, hey, look how
6:03
great I am, I'm doing this, which is not what I'm trying to do.
6:06
I just try to bring the light so I can maybe, like you say,
6:09
support them and further their cause and stuff like that. So,
6:13
yep. So I know you— who was the winner
6:17
this week of the Community MVP? So we just hit week
6:21
4 and it was Mac Collins. Of the New England Patriots.
6:25
Um, special connection to Mac, we both went
6:29
to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Go Tar Heels!
6:32
Uh, so throw that in there. But, um, but Mac, he, uh,
6:36
he, he's— this is the first time he's won it, but, you know,
6:40
probably long overdue just for the work that he's doing. So he's a Special Olympics
6:45
ambassador, and this goes back all the way to his days in college
6:48
where he just took it upon himself to to do that work. And this is
6:52
before the current college NIL state where they were
6:56
actually making money back then. So this is kind of him investing
6:59
his own time, his own money. And he did it again,
7:02
this time in Massachusetts, where he funded a whole field
7:07
day event for about 125 Special Olympic athletes and
7:11
their families to come out and just do different interactive sports stations.
7:15
There was a photo booth. Uh, food. And, and, you know,
7:19
the pictures are really cool because you can see that he's really engaged and just
7:23
gets a joy out of, out of giving back and helping people in that
7:27
way. And that's, that's the cool part to see, because guys
7:31
understanding their platform, um, and they were often
7:35
in, in the same shoes of a lot of these kids or just people in
7:39
need. And now that the, you know, they're on the other side of things Um,
7:43
you can see they kind of go back to those moments, um, and,
7:46
and realize like, yeah, that was just me, you know, not too long ago,
7:50
but now I can actually be the person that inspires. And who knows
7:54
who that, who that kid or person will become, um,
7:57
based off of that one personal engagement. So shout out
8:01
to Mac, uh, well, well-deserved honor. Yeah, that's great. So what
8:05
goes into like the process of winning the, the weekly award?
8:09
Yeah, so, uh, good question. So we, uh, we have a
8:13
nomination form that lives on our Community MVP website, and each
8:17
week we'll get submissions mostly from players'
8:20
agents, marketing reps, or their teams, like their PR departments
8:25
or their community relations departments. And sometimes players themselves
8:29
or their teammates will also nominate, just knowing the work that's going on.
8:34
And then we have an internal committee of about 5 people from
8:38
different departments, including myself, and we'll go through the applications.
8:41
And I always say it's like picking who your favorite child is because
8:45
they're all worthy and great, but just kind of looking at different
8:49
things like impact and personal engagement.
8:52
And then we will pick a winner off of that.
8:55
And then every Friday is when we make that announcement.
8:59
And then from those 18 Community MVPs that
9:03
are selected during the season, they all become
9:07
eligible for our Alan Page Community Award,
9:10
which is like our version of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
9:13
Um, and, and it's one of our highest player honors that goes to,
9:17
uh, a player that's doing outstanding community service.
9:21
And so we'll have an external committee of media, labor,
9:24
just people from different parts of the industry, and then there's a fan vote that
9:29
goes into whittling that down to 5 finalists. Each of those 5
9:33
finalists get an additional $10,000 donation from the union.
9:36
And then we'll have the players across the league, they will
9:40
all get a ballot to vote from those 5 on who
9:43
they think should be that year's Alan Page Community Award winner.
9:47
So it's actually pretty cool and prestigious. And the players really
9:51
hold it in high honor because it's like their peers are choosing them.
9:55
And it's like an award for the players by the players. So it's
9:59
really cool to see that develop. Yeah, I read, I read a little bit about
10:03
the Alan Page, and, and now that led me to my next question. And I
10:06
didn't know if you guys were involved at all with the Walter Payton,
10:09
uh, voting or any selection of that at all. No,
10:13
that's, uh, that's on the NFL side. Um, and,
10:17
you know, we, we talk a lot with, with their, uh,
10:20
people on their community side because they're doing great work with that award.
10:24
Um, so yeah, we just kind of— they kind of run parallel, and I
10:28
guess it it's another avenue for players to be awarded.
10:32
And I know they hold that award in high esteem,
10:35
but that's, excuse me, on the NFL side. And then the NFLPA's award is
10:39
the Alan Page Community Award. Gotcha. Is there an initiative
10:44
that you guys are leaning towards right now or focused on as far
10:47
as with player involvement and stuff like that?
10:51
Yeah, so we, I guess 2 things that
10:55
we've done recently. One is we,
10:59
this offseason, we started what's called the NFLPA
11:02
Player Camp Grant Program. Um, and that just came
11:05
out of, you know, seeing all the camps that are happening during
11:09
the summer and the offseason. Um, because players,
11:12
you know, usually they're back home or, or still living in their team
11:17
city, but it's, it's just kind of an easy way for them to engage
11:20
and connect with the next generation of kids. And again,
11:23
that resonates with them. Because I remember like talking to,
11:27
uh, Damar Hamlin, and he was saying like he used to go to camps
11:32
with Pittsburgh Steelers players when he was younger. And then, you know, once he
11:36
got to, to be on that stage, he wanted to be able to give back
11:38
in that way. So he, he has a camp each year.
11:41
Um, but it's like, how can we bring value-add
11:45
to what the players are doing and show them that something
11:49
that they care about, we also care about and want to invest in? So We
11:53
have a grant program and there are about 160
11:58
players that applied this first season, which it went quickly
12:03
because we only had so many slots. And we give a $1,000 grant
12:07
to each of the players in their camps. And that's something cool,
12:11
again, bringing that value add of something that
12:15
players really care about and showing that their union also cares and supports them.
12:18
Supports them. And, um, and then we— something
12:22
we started about 4 years ago that's taken
12:27
on different forms throughout the years, but we try to, uh, host a
12:30
community event during Super Bowl week that,
12:33
uh, just brings together a lot of the community MVPs,
12:37
players that are in town, um, because, you know, it's a busy week,
12:41
but with all this going on, guys see it as another great
12:45
opportunity to give back. So we try to identify Title I schools in
12:49
the Super Bowl host city and hold like a field day or just
12:53
engage with some of our other partners to see how we can help
12:58
that school in that way and bring a presence of NFL players there to
13:02
engage and connect with the kids and just make it a memorable time.
13:06
And that's, that's one of my favorite things to see, like just in person,
13:09
because again, you see the impact, you see the players care.
13:13
So we're just kind of keep building and keep supporting in ways
13:16
that can broaden the player's impact. It's funny
13:20
doing this, talking to like the directors of
13:23
these foundations and stuff like that. The players love getting out in the community.
13:27
It doesn't seem— because they don't shout it from the
13:31
rooftops, hey, look at what I'm doing, you don't hear about it. But all the
13:34
stuff that I'm doing, they love like getting out and talking
13:38
to their fans and especially the kids and stuff like that. Yeah,
13:42
no, like I said, it's cool to see because it really humanizes them.
13:46
And I think particularly in, in this, in these times,
13:50
like, they're just treated so much like robots
13:54
or products. And, you know, people come up to them, they just want autographs
13:58
or things from them. But, you know, mostly,
14:01
I guess, talking in the setting of kids, you get that innocence again where
14:05
their eyes light up and it's just like they realize that those
14:09
people and people that are in need that they're impacting, they see them
14:13
for who they really are, which is a person who puts on their clothes,
14:16
puts on their shoes like everybody else, and just wants to help in some way.
14:20
So I think that's the cool part, and that's why it really resonates with us
14:24
as a union to get involved, because that's what we
14:28
pour into. We want players to be supported in their whole self, not just
14:32
as football players and their jobs. Uh, which is a big
14:35
part of what they do, but it's a small window into who they truly are,
14:39
um, and what really makes them tick. Because I think a lot of the foundations
14:43
and community work that you see players do, it's informed by
14:47
what they went through when they were younger, whether it be single parents
14:51
or military or somebody impacted by cancer.
14:54
So that's why you really see the passion when they're in those moments, because it's
14:57
like, I've, I've been impacted by this and now I can help in some way.
15:02
Right. So do you guys fund these programs yourself,
15:05
or is there fundraising that you do, or do you have sponsors
15:09
or community partners or stuff like that?
15:12
I'd say 90-some percent of the funding is
15:15
from our union. So we make a point to include those
15:19
things in the budget.
15:21
And the union has
15:25
dues that are paid for by the players, But none
15:29
of that money is used towards running the
15:33
union or staff salaries or things like that. We hold that aside
15:37
as a player war chest just in case there's a lockout or work stoppage
15:41
that players could tap into. So it's really just built off of our licensing
15:46
and marketing arm called Players Inc., where they connect players with
15:50
licensees and brands and build marketing and
15:54
revenue opportunities. But it's still funds that are generated
15:58
by the players. So it's good to be able to pour that back into players
16:02
and their foundations. But it's like a Community MVP,
16:05
it's nice to be able to say we as a union, that $10,000
16:10
is being donated directly from the union to them. So we definitely built
16:14
up a lot of partners along the way, and there are business elements that
16:17
help, but it's overwhelmingly, like I said,
16:20
95-98%, that's from the union itself.
16:25
Do you continue the relationship after they retire?
16:29
Because I know a lot of guys like Larry Fitzgerald has a foundation and a
16:32
lot of retired guys continue their foundation work even after
16:36
they— Do you guys continue with them? We do.
16:39
So we have what's called the Professional Athletes Foundation.
16:43
So the NFLPA is a nonprofit,
16:47
but that's our foundation arm officially.
16:51
And what they do is they support former
16:55
players in that post-NFL career
16:59
phase. So they've, since starting in 1990,
17:04
they've helped over 7,000
17:07
former players and assisted them in some way with if they're navigating
17:11
hardships and need some financial assistance. They provide over—
17:15
provided over $37 million, I think it is,
17:19
to players But also they support player foundations
17:23
and just creating community moments and
17:26
ways that we can help. So Larry Fitzgerald, funny you mentioned him, he is one
17:30
that, that they've worked closely with. Like when the Super Bowl was in Arizona a
17:34
few years ago, he was involved with his foundation and
17:38
he's into artwork and paintings and we had some events around there.
17:42
So yes, we definitely want to help players and support
17:46
them throughout their whole life cycle because playing in the NFL,
17:50
you know, it's a very small window, but how can we help guys beyond that?
17:54
Because that's when you really see them pour into the things that they care about.
17:59
Yeah, I went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and did an episode
18:03
there, and they have a lot of similar things as far as supporting former
18:09
players and stuff like that. So it's good that they're not just like, okay,
18:11
you're done playing, see you later. Yeah, and it, you know,
18:14
it can seem that way for sure because, you know,
18:18
players— unfortunately, football is, is a violent sport, so players
18:22
deal with a lot of health challenges. And you've seen some of those headlines
18:26
around that and, and CTE. And, and,
18:29
you know, as much as we try to pour into them with
18:32
resources and support, sometimes there's only so much that we
18:36
can do when it comes to, to the health things. Um, so yeah,
18:40
we want to be able to show up as much as we can so that
18:43
they don't feel like they're, you know, you know, doing this on their own.
18:45
And that goes for their families too, because they're impacted just as much.
18:50
Is there like a survey that you guys put out every
18:53
year or a questionnaire to identify
18:58
what players are looking for as far as opportunities to get involved? That way
19:02
you can match them up, or if there's players that currently have foundations or maybe
19:06
2 that they can partner together, do you guys do anything like that? Yeah,
19:10
so we try to solicit some feedback off of the Community
19:14
MVP program. Um, just the guys that are honored and, and talking to
19:18
them, whether it be, you know, over email or just directly,
19:22
uh, if, if they're out at some of our community events or we're out at
19:26
one of their events. So that's helpful in like understanding,
19:31
you know, what are some areas that, that we should maybe focus on
19:35
that players really care about, or how can we go about
19:38
highlighting this in a way, um,
19:41
that the player can lean into that's meaningful to them.
19:45
So, you know, we don't want to just,
19:49
you know, give money and show up and sign a check and then that's it.
19:52
I think a lot of feedback is players like, how can we make
19:55
this an ongoing, longer-term initiative?
19:59
Because, you know, sometimes— so for instance,
20:02
like if you do a one-off charity event, which is fine and that's impactful,
20:06
let's say for people experiencing homelessness, you might feed them. The reality
20:11
is that the next week they're likely going to be in the same situation
20:15
and need another meal. So it's like, how can we keep
20:20
that momentum and continue to impact those people and help them
20:23
so they can get on their feet and then hopefully get some stability?
20:27
So I think that's the biggest feedback is working
20:31
with players. And it goes both ways of how can we be
20:35
better in doing that and how can they be helped in making sure that it's
20:38
not just a one-off, but that they are truly committed to that cause
20:41
in a meaningful way. Do you go out,
20:45
like, I don't know what your access would be like to teams and
20:49
speak to them about, hey, this is what we do. And if you were
20:53
to use this as a resource, how do they find out about what you guys
20:56
do? Yeah, that's a good question. So we,
21:00
during the fall, actually now we have what
21:04
we call team meetings. And, uh, some of our player
21:07
leadership goes— staff player leadership goes out and they'll have a meeting
21:11
at each of the 32 teams. And, uh, that does— I mean,
21:15
there's a lot of stuff to talk about, but that is something that, that's mentioned.
21:19
Um, and it's more so like, if, if you have more questions,
21:23
here's somebody you can reach out to, Brandon or another staff member.
21:27
Uh, we have a monthly player newsletter that goes out that mentions some
21:30
of the Community MVP and other initiatives that we
21:35
do. But I think the offseason is when we really can really engage
21:39
with the players because during the season, you know, they're locked in.
21:42
That's their main jobs. But, you know, whether it's Super
21:46
Bowl or like the community event at the school that I talked about,
21:50
like that's when you really get the face-to-face time and the
21:54
nonprofit work that they want to do is really top of mind. So That's
21:58
when we can tell them about Community MVP, tell them about, you know, what are
22:02
you thinking, so how can we run parallel to what you're doing.
22:06
And but the agents and the marketing reps that they work with are very
22:10
helpful in being vehicles to get the word out because, you know, there's a lot
22:14
of messages and things going players' way that they're trying to
22:17
juggle. So working closely with the agents and the marketing reps and the
22:21
teams has been helpful too in getting the word out. Yeah, it's being
22:25
a professional athlete isn't, isn't a 9-to-5 job, I don't think.
22:29
No, not at all. Um, is that—
22:33
so you mentioned Anquan Boldin as far as is helping.
22:36
Is there any other ones that come to mind? There's other resources?
22:41
Um, yeah, so there's, there's a, a group called
22:44
Stand Together, um, and they've, they've got—
22:48
they've gained a lot of steam and impact recently,
22:52
and they've got a few former players on
22:55
staff, and then they've kind of built what they call this community locker
23:00
room where, you know, they want to connect
23:04
guys that are doing the work. So to your point, like you're
23:07
saying, a lot of the great ideas and the true impact comes
23:11
when guys can collaborate together and say like, oh yeah,
23:14
I'm already doing this thing. That's helping people that are
23:18
food insecure, and you're doing it over here. Like, how can we come together and,
23:22
uh, and make it great? Um, the Players Coalition,
23:26
they, they do a lot of great work, uh, as well in the community.
23:30
And I, I think the biggest thing where they are an assistance to the players
23:34
is that, you know, I always say coming into the league,
23:37
players want to do 3 things. They want to play well on the field,
23:41
they want to make money, And they want to give back in some way.
23:46
And we do our— try to do our part in supporting players in
23:50
those 3 phases, whether it be as a union, making sure their working conditions,
23:54
health and safety are optimal so that they can perform on the field.
23:58
Players Inc., which I mentioned earlier, that's our business
24:01
and marketing licensing arm to help them maximize that
24:05
earning power during the NFL window. And then the community side,
24:09
But I think a lot of guys automatically think like, oh, I'm just going to
24:12
start a foundation, not understanding that that's a
24:15
big undertaking. Um, and you need a lot
24:19
of people involved and it can't always be your family members running that,
24:23
that sort of thing. So I think those organizations help them like
24:27
really sit down and say, okay, tell us what you really want to do and
24:30
we can help you find that avenue. And maybe it is a foundation,
24:33
but maybe it's you know, leaning into this initiative
24:37
that's already happening or partnering with this player. So I think they can
24:41
really get the player grounded in what they want to do, and then the
24:46
ball gets rolling from there. So that's why we're happy to send them that
24:49
way to, to help, to help them get to where they want to go.
24:53
Yeah, I know a lot of like players get involved with the,
24:56
the team's foundation and do events with them and stuff like that. So that's
25:00
That's really cool to see, um, when they do that. And,
25:04
and it's, it's just, I love just hearing the stories about,
25:08
look, dogs or kids or stuff like that,
25:12
that the people that sometimes need help that can't help themselves. And it's, it's just
25:16
great that, that players can use their platform to be able to do that.
25:20
Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's because like you said,
25:23
being a football player is not your normal 9 to 5. And I think
25:27
the perception— and, you know, I get it— that some people have
25:31
is like, a lot of these guys are making millions of dollars, so why can't
25:36
they just easily donate to these things or write a check?
25:40
And, you know, that's, that's true to an extent,
25:44
um, but I'd say the average player, NFL player, is not
25:47
making what you see like some of these quarterbacks
25:51
making on, on a $50 million a year basis.
25:55
So there's that. So the average player wants to give back, but they have to
25:58
also be wise in picking those spots in those moments,
26:03
uh, to do so. But again, understanding their platform influence, and sometimes
26:07
it's just showing up and being there, doesn't always have to be a donation.
26:11
Um, but for those guys that are making a lot of the money, I think
26:15
that goes back to what we're saying. People don't realize all the things that they
26:19
do. It just it just goes under the radar and it's not reported,
26:22
which, which is fine for the player because they want to do it to help
26:26
people. Um, but it's a big investment in terms of time,
26:30
money, um, just, just making sure they, they do
26:33
it right. And, and knowing that, again, football takes up so much of their
26:37
time during the season and even offseason where you're, you're getting
26:41
asked to train and come back to the facility. So when you
26:44
do see guys investing that time, I think it's, it's that much more meaningful
26:48
because they're really putting their all into, uh, into doing
26:52
it. Have you seen, um,
26:55
uh, increase in community involvement in players over the years, or is
26:59
it— has it been a thing for a long, long time? Uh,
27:03
I, I'd say it's been a thing. It's just now that, you know, there's social
27:07
media and so many different ways to report what's, what's going
27:11
on, or for people to capture it from a content standpoint, that it seems
27:14
like it's happening more. Um, but I do think
27:19
there's more ways that players can get creative in how they're going about
27:23
giving back. So, um, obviously the,
27:26
the money that's, uh, within the NFL and football
27:30
and that players are getting paid is a lot more than what it was in
27:34
the '80s and the '70s. So I think, you know, from,
27:37
from that standpoint, you are going to see more because guys have more resources
27:41
to to, to donate, but I think the heart is still the same and,
27:45
and the desire is still there. So I think, um,
27:48
it's a natural progression, which is a good thing, but I don't think it's any
27:52
different in terms of players and their willingness and want to,
27:55
to give back over the years. Yeah, well, thanks Brandon for coming
27:59
out and joining us today. And, um, anything I could do
28:02
in the future, definitely reach out and I'll help in any way I can.
28:06
Appreciate it, Brian. Keep doing what you're doing, man. This platform is great to bring
28:09
attention to the good work that is that's being done out there.
28:14
And that concludes our episode. So tune in next time, we'll bring you
28:18
another amazing foundation doing amazing work. And remember,
28:21
show your good side out there,