NFL Players Team Up To Teach Students Respect & Communication
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- So much of what we see in the news each day gets here because, at some point, there were problems in how people communicated.
Mike Schuh reports former NFL players, pained by the recent events in Baltimore, offer city school kids lessons in respect and communication.
The Freddie Gray uprising is directly responsible for former NFL center and current NFL Network analyst Jamie Dukes being in town.
"Baltimore is an NFL town, I'll say it that way. I'm a former NFL player and we do things for our brethren or sistren cities and if it affects Baltimore, it affects Philly, it affects us all," Dukes said.
He's begun a program for Atlanta schools called "Frenemal." That's a friend, enemy and animal all rolled into one.
"We're helping students understand self-awareness and respect for themselves and adults," he said.
The program will start at Arlington Elementary Middle near Pimlico. Then, for no cost, it will be expanded to all city schools with the goal to have kids influence their parents.
"It's not mine to judge but I do know that our kids take their cues from us," he said.
Helping out today, Ravens legend kicker Matt Stover, who says kids listen to NFL players.
"I believe we have a platform to be used and shouldn't be held selfishly so if I'm invited to asked to be part of something like this, I do everything to make that possible," Stover said.
Big men tackling big problems.
That program is intended for all elementary and middle school students starting next school year.
