Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake Bringing Awareness To Boys & Girls Club Using NFL Cleat Initiative
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Some people wear their heart on their sleeve.
Miami Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake prefers to wear it on his feet.
My Cause My Cleats is an NFL initiative to let players bring awareness to a cause close to their heart by adding some flair to the cleats that keep them moving every Sunday in front of millions.
"Since the Boys and Girls Club is so near and dear to my heart, I wanted to represent the Boys and Girls Club with my own cleats," Drake said last week. "It has the Boys and Girls Club emblem. It's faded from blue to white with the Boys and Girls Club words and blue Nike emblem. This is what I will be wearing this weekend to represent y'all and represent anyone that was ever been a part of the Boys and Girls Club."
It's something that goes both ways though as the Boys and Girls Club also very much represent him.
"I grew up in the Boys and Girls Club," Drake said. "I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. Every day after school in the summertime I used to come to Boys and Girls Club.
"I wanted to come out here and having this platform being a dolphin player and living my dream to show that I'm in the flesh what you can really truly be when you grow up…
During his year and a half with the Dolphins, Drake has frequently visited the Boys and Girls Clubs in Broward County, making quite an impression on the kids there.
"I was excited when I saw him," said high school junior Evan Lee. "I had to hurry up and come and meet him."
Each of the club members were represented last Sunday when those cleats hit the field.
"It's great cause he's like showing us he wants to win for us Sunday," Lee said.
Drake had a career day in those special cleats, rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries in a 35-9 Dolphins win.
He's a walking testament, once in the shoes of the kids he stands in front of, to show anything is possible with hard work and dedication.
"Whatever you wanna do, the world is y'alls really," Drake said. "You're at the point in y'alls lives now that you can be whatever you wanna be, truly. I wanted to be a football player I grew up and I worked hard at it, and I'm here right now to stand in front of you all and tell you can be whatever you want to be."
Across the NFL, about 1,000 players participated in the My Cause My Cleats initiative.
Each pair worn last weekend is available for purchase at the NFL Auction website, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the players' charitable causes.
Drake's cleats can be bid on by clicking here. Bidding ends on December 28th.
