Blessed:
I have to say that I am a very blessed individual. I have had the honor and privilege of accomplishing something that only one tenth of one percent of the world can accomplish. I played ten years in the National Football League. I was drafted in the sixth round (twelve rounds back then) out of The Indiana University in the spring of 1991. From 1991 to 2001, I had the honor of playing for three of the greatest franchises in pro football. I played for the Los Angeles / Oakland Raiders for six seasons and I was part of the team that returned to Oakland. I played for three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Finally, I finished my blessed career with one last season with the Washington Redskins. Over the ten seasons I accumulated experiences and skills that would serve me for a lifetime.
Today:
I am currently the NFLPA Senior Director of Former Player Services.I have earned my MBA in Global Management. I am a ten year veteran of the financial services industry. I have been a Vice President for three large firms. Northern Trust and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and First Midwest Bank. My career in the financial services industry started during my time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I participated in the NFL internship program. I was interviewed by Northwestern Mutual Financial Services and was accepted into the training program. Subsequently, I became a full time life agent while I was still a pro football player. The experience at Northwestern Mutual set the tone for the rest of my career.
Public Speaking:
I am a public speaker and I speak to professional and educational organizations on the concepts of overcoming adversity, ethical leadership, teamwork, and the experiences in my ten seasons in the NFL that shaped the man I am today.
NFLPA Service:
I am a proud member of the NFL Players Association and was a two term elected member of the NFLPA Former Players Board of Directors. I also served on the NFLPA Player and Business Executive Committee, and a past Health Committee Chairman. During my playing career I was elected to the Board of Player Representatives and the Executive Committee serving as Vice President. One of my greatest accomplishments was to get the barbaric practice of chop blocking banned in the NFL. This was a long and tough three year lobbying effort. Players spoke out on both sides of the isle about the effort. Offensive players were against the rule change proposal for obvious reasons. Many defensive players were for it but were afraid to speak out as they would be targets for the block if they expressed public support. I obtained signatures from all defensive starters and backups in the front seven for all thirty two teams. I was also able to pull together film of the players around the NFL being injured by the blocking technique. I was finally allowed to present the evidence to the NFL competition committee along with calling witnesses to testify in favor of the rule change. In the end the NFL competition committee agreed that in the interest of player safety the rule should be changed. I look back on that effort with great pride knowing that future players in the NFL will forever be protected from the technique that cut short many players seasons and claimed so many players careers too early.
Community:
I have always been very involved in the community serving on boards like the Naperville Fry Family YMCA Board along with being a Naperville Sunrise Rotarian.
The Future:
The future is always bright as long you remember to continue to ride the wave that God has you on. If you get knocked off, get back on! The failures of yesterday are only the lessons learned for tomorrow. Don't dwell in the pain of yesterday, learn from it and move forward. In football we learn that if you want to be successful you must put the bad plays behind you, forget about them, so that you have a chance to win the on next play.
I really hope you enjoy my thoughts and expressions on this blog and I welcome all feedback and opinion. I leave you with one last thing,
Be better today, than you were yesterday!
