LaMarr Woodley Donates $60K To School
By Mike Dyce
Sometimes we focus all too much on the negative around professional athletes. The bad examples they set when they’re arrested for something like domestic abuse like Chad Johnson and Dez Bryant. But every now and then a professional athlete does something positive and NFL Spin Zone wants to make sure to highlight the positive as well, like when Brandon Jacobs responded to a 6 year old sending him a piggy bank so he’ll stay with the New York Giants.
LaMarr Woodley, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers has donated $60,000 to cover the expenses of a school to cover their recent budget cuts. Specifically it’s to cover budget cuts that would have made students pay for the right to play sports in a Michigan school district.
The school district was going to have students pay a fee of $75 to play sports.
This was the Saginaw Public School district and Woodley is a graduate of the Saginaw High School. Woodley then took it upon himself to call the school district to ask them what the fees would amount to, and was quoted the $60,000. He reportedly then told the team to ditch that plan and he’d cut the check.
“If you know him, you know he’s not doing it to see his name in the paper,” Saginaw athletic director Dan Szatkowski said. “He’s beyond that. What a great message this sends to the kids, to the families, to the other people in the city and even the state. It’s a tough time, but here’s a professional player who gets it. This is a big deal. He’s providing the means for kids to participate. What’s the price you can put on that? What price do you put on an experience? LaMarr Woodley is providing for that experience.”
Woodley might not be the household name Chad Johnson or Dez Bryant are, but maybe he should be because to a whole community of young athletes he is a hero.
“This reveals Woodley’s character and speaks a lot about how he was raised … to give back,” Arthur Hill athletic director Fred Townsend said. “People might say that since he makes a lot of money, it’s not a big deal. But it is.
“There are a lot of millionaires out there who make no impact on their community. But LaMarr Woodley has gone out of his way to make a tremendous impact on his community.”