In the world of professional sports, there are a lot of great examples of how NOT to act, how NOT to treat others, how NOT to play. Practically every sport out there has a revolving doorway of players through the legal system for one reason or another. Others may stay out of trouble off the field, but play in such an un-sportsman-like way that they disgust me almost as much as their criminal cohorts.
But I tend to get sick of how the media in general focuses on these losers, not just in sports but in all areas of life. Feel-good stories just don’t get the headlines they deserve. My favorite football team is the Green Bay Packers and they’ve had their share of players getting bad press over the past decade. But there are a lot of guys on these teams that go out of their way to make life better for others.
One of my favorite examples is Donald Driver, currently the Pack’s go-to receiver. This is a guy whose family went through some really tough times when he was young. He has just as many things to point at as “reasons” why he could be a complete malcontent, but he doesn’t have to. He’s a stand-up guy that deserves to have the big headlines that all the Pacman Jones and TO’s of the world get. He and every player like him that works hard, plays hard, and lives in a way they can be proud of.
I just read a nice little article that, like so many I’ve read before, give a brief overview of what Driver has been through and what he’s accomplished. It should be the lead story on NFL.com, instead of who’s holding out for more money (to play a stinking game) or who’s going to miss time this season due to legal problems. But it’s not, so I’ll help point a few more people that way to read it…