NFL Report:  The Commissioner’s View  -- Spring, 2003

Opportunity, Community, Responsibility

The honor of speaking at the Grambling State University football awards banquet came my way several weeks ago, thanks to Doug Williams, the former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl MVP and now the very successful head coach at Grambling.

Grambling is the historically black university in Louisiana that provides unique educational opportunities for African-Americans and has become a hallowed name in football. More than 200 Grambling players have made pro football rosters since 1949, including four that became members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, and Charlie Joiner.

Doug Williams also played at Grambling. After his NFL playing career, he pursued a career in coaching and five years ago received the opportunity to succeed Grambling’s legendary Eddie Robinson, the winningest head coach in college football history.

Doug has done a tremendous job at Grambling, leading the Tigers to three straight conference championships and three national black college championships. So I considered it a distinct privilege when Coach Williams invited me to speak at the team’s annual awards banquet. It was a thrill to visit the campus and the football facilities, including the displays that showcase Grambling’s rich football tradition.

My message to the team focused on three words and two individuals.

The three words – opportunity, community and responsibility – can be used to set the foundation of individual success.

I wanted the Grambling players to know that every person creates his or her own opportunities, just as they created an opportunity to attend Grambling through the game of football. As students at Grambling State University, these players also recognize the value of becoming a meaningful part of a community. But no success is possible if a person fails to take on responsibility and adhere to high standards of conduct.

In terms of setting goals, I suggested to the players that they focus on both academics and athletics, thinking short-term and long-term. In doing so, I believe it is important to identify athletic role models who also excelled academically and created long-term career opportunities while pursuing short-term athletic enjoyment.

The two NFL examples I cited were Willie Davis of Grambling and the Green Bay Packers and Alan Page of Notre Dame and the Minnesota Vikings.

Both are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but more importantly, they both excelled in their academics and in their careers after football.

Willie Davis has succeeded as a businessman and entrepreneur, owning major radio stations in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and elsewhere, as well as serving on the boards of directors of several major American corporations.

Alan Page, after getting his law degree, served for many years as a public prosecutor in the state of Minnesota and was eventually elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court, where he now serves as a justice.

Willie Davis and Alan Page are prime examples of people who placed a high priority on opportunity, community, and responsibility. They achieved on their merits in competitive arenas that transcended race, ethnicity and other individual characteristics – relying on their talents, values and motivation. Like them, as I told the team, every one of the Grambling football players in his own way can become someone special, especially at a place like Grambling.