DeSean Jackson and Ray Rice Promote Anti-Bullying Month

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Anti-Bullying, DeSean Jackson, NFL, Ray Rice

October 18, 2012

Our Prayers are with you Ray Lewis..

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Baltimore Ravens, DeSean Jackson, Ray Lewis

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On behalf of the Jackson Family and Team Jackson, I extend our sincere prayers to Ray Lewis for a full, speedy recovery; and, lift him up in prayer daily as he has for so many others through his leadership and compassion for others both on and off the field.

– DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles

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By Jeff Zrebiec8:49 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2012

What appeared to be a harmless tackle of Dallas Cowboys’ running back Phillip Tanner in the fourth quarter Sunday became the last play Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis will make this season. Lewis, 37 years old and a veteran of 17 NFL seasons, now has to decide whether the Ravens’ victory Sunday will also be the final game of his Hall of Fame career. A magnetic resonance imaging test taken Monday on Lewis’ right arm revealed the Ravens’ worst fear: a torn triceps, which is a rare but significant injury that will likely require surgery and an arduous six-month recovery period.Selected after offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden in the first round of the Ravens’ first draft in 1996, Lewis has become the face of the franchise, one of the NFL’s most respected players, and one of the most celebrated linebackers ever. Lewis always has been non-committal about retirement, saying only that he’ll know when it’s time. Ravens coach John Harbaugh declined to speculate on whether Lewis may have played his last game.

“That’s for Ray to speak on,” Harbaugh said. “I admire Ray Lewis. I’ve said that many times. I think everybody in this room does. Everybody that knows him feels that way about him. I’m looking forward to seeing what Ray says about that.” The Ravens are expected to put Lewis , on injured reserve as early as Tuesday, ending his season.Harbaugh was given the news by Ravens’ head trainer Mark Smith just before 4 p.m. Monday . He hadn’t spoken to Lewis as of Monday afternoon, but Harbaugh sensed in his conversations with Lewis following Sunday’s game that it could be a serious injury. Lewis was getting treatment after the game and not available to reporters. “Ray was worried about it,” Harbaugh said. “Ray said some things about his faith. He goes back to his faith, and he said some things that I’ll never forget. You look at his situation and what he’s accomplished and what he’s accomplished and what he was hoping to accomplish this year. He’s going to have to accomplish those things in different ways because that’s the way it’s gone. He puts his faith in providence. That’s where he’s going to go with that.”Ray made a game-high 14 tackles Sunday and his takedown of Tanner came after a 6-yard gain at the 2-minute warning. Lewis immediately shook his right arm before heading to the sidelines, where he watched the remainder of the game. Lewis took a knee to watch the game’s final frantic moments, which included a dropped two-point conversion by Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant that would have tied the game, and a missed 51-yard field goal by Dan Baileythat would have won it.Lewis is a 13-time Pro Bowl selection, a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was the MVP of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XXXV victory over the New York Giants. The news of his season-ending injury prompted several players, including Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley, DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver to use their Twitter accounts to wish Lewis a speedy recovery.

“Ray Lewis has helped progress this game so guys like myself have something to strive to be…a professional. Prayers sent up,” Griffin said.

NFL Players Sport Pink Cleats for Breast Cancer Awareness

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Breast Cancer Awareness, DeSean Jackson, NFL Players

NFL players sport pink cleats for Breast Cancer Awareness month

Posted on October 12, 2012 by admin

If you were watching any of the National Football League (NFL) games on Sunday, you definitely noticed the fancy footwear worn by a number of the most famous athletes in the sport, from Robert Griffin III to Tom Brady. Many players trotted out onto the field in pink gear, the most eye-catching of which were the cleats.

The NFL and each team promotes some incredible fundraising during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is observed each October in the United States. Almost all of the franchises donate money to local hospitals and research groups, and many host events as wide-ranging as star-studded galas and meet-and-greets with players for survivors.

The league also encourages young football players and coaches to sport pink gear to raise awareness in their communities, whether it be their jerseys, gloves or helmets.

If you’d like to get in on some star athlete memorabilia, the league is also running an auction throughout the month featuring pink cleats and other gear worn by players across the country. The proceeds from the rosy items will be donated to the American Cancer Society’s Community Health Advocates National Grants for Empowerment program, which both educates women on the signs of breast cancer and offers mammograms to those in need.

Through the course of the NFL’s partnership with the cancer research nonprofit, the pair has raised more than $3 million, often from the sale of pink products at games and auctions.

No matter which team you support, everyone is in the fight against breast cancer together. You can find out about your team’s programs and efforts here, and be sure to check out the NFL Pink site for the auction and other information on the fight against this disease.

[Note:  DeSean Jackson will wear several pairs of pink cleats during the month and all will be donated to auction off to the highest bidder with 100% of the proceeds going to Breast Cancer Awareness.  He has also chosen to wear the signature “Critical Catch” knit hat to raise attention to Breast Cancer Awareness and donned this hat during the Steeler game, at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA.]

 DeSean Jackson sports pink cleats in observance of National Breast Cancer Awareness

Outside the Game: DeSean Jackson is moving toward a rap career

Outside the Game: DeSean Jackson is moving quickly toward a rap career

By Doug Farrar

By Doug Farrar | Shutdown Corner – Tue, Oct 2, 2012 2:40 PM EDT

 

(Getty Images)Philadelphia Eagles star receiver DeSean Jackson grew up in and around Compton, Calif., when that area was the rap capital of the world. Though he went a different way with what has been a highly productive football career, Jackson hasn’t forgotten his roots, and his background has left him with an intense desire to express himself with a rap career of his own.

“I just want people to understand and get to know the real DeSean,” Jackson recently told Yahoo! Sports. “That culture for hip-hop was huge, and I had a passion for it at an early age.”

Jackson’s been one of the NFL’s fastest receivers since the Eagles selected him in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. He ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, and he’s always been one of the league’s toughest players to catch in a straight-up race. Just as he has sought to move past those who wondered if he’d ever succeed at this level. Now, he’s moving just as quickly in the direction of a bigger life in music.

“People always doubted me, saying that I’d never go to Long Beach Poly [High] and make it,” Jackson said. “That I’d never go to Cal and make it. There’s something about me that keeps being excited to prove everybody wrong. It’s like the critics who say, ‘Why is he rapping?’ It’s cool; I’ll just keep proving them wrong.”

Jackson was known for his blinding speed, even as a kid — he used to chase the ice cream trucks for blocks and eventually catch it, and opposing coaches would ask Jackson’s coach to move him to different positions on youth football, because their players couldn’t keep up with him. Rap was just as important to him, as it is now.

(Getty Images)

“Through the music, I think [people] will get to know me and the struggles I went through in life. I can give it to them on the tracks, so people can understand the real me.”

Jackson writes much of his music on his smartphone, and then brings friends and collaborators in to finish things off. “We work great as a unit, and we motivate each other.”

“Sometimes we write separately,” Anthony Moore, one of Jackson’s collaborators, said. “Or, he’ll have a song he’s working on, and we’ll walk into the studio and vibe off of that. DeSean brings that on-field energy into the studio.”

Jackson’s place of prominence in the NFL has allowed him time with some of rap’s biggest names, and the most important one so far is the addition of noted producer L.T. Hutton to the project. Hutton, who’s worked with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Nate Dogg and many more, will have Jackson’s upcoming album on his own Jaccpot label.

“Over the last five months, we’ve put together probably 120 tracks,” Jackson said. “I have a slim chance of making it in the music industry. It’s a risk, [and there are] no guarantees. But I’m a firm believer in having one life, and living that one life up.”

DeSean Jackson Heads AIM Anti-Bullying and Anti-Violence Campaign

DeSean Jackson and his BFF, Nadin

[Not the best picture of DeSean but this one appeared in the AIM original article]

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Leila Steinberg, Founder and CEO, of Alternative Intervention Model (AIM, Inc.), a non-profit based in Long Beach, CA, is pleased to announce that NFL Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has partnered with her organization and will head AIM’s Anti-Bullying and Anti-Violence Campaign.  The AIM business model transforms lives of at-risk youth through the arts.  Ms. Steinberg, a former mentor to Tupac Shakur, incorporates Tupac’s creativity, intellectual property, vision and life lessons as a core concept for addressing social unrest, teen violence;  and, violence in our communities.  Mr. Jackson is states that he is privileged and honored to partner with Ms. Steinberg and empower others while preserving the legacy of Tupac in impoverished communities with the same criteria that Tupac’s core concepts are taught in major ivy league universities throughout the nation.  Furthermore, Jackson states that his association with Ms. Steinberg and AIM Inc. has helped him identify his own shortcomings in regards to sensitivity, diversity and tolerance; and, given him the requisite knowledge and tools to advocate for social change and make a difference in the lives of our youth and communities.

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Ms. Steinberg and DeSean Jackson have also taken their campaign into the Department of Corrections in an effort to learn and listen to the inmate population to deter incidents of violence and increase the outcomes for success for the high-risk population that AIM serves.

You can learn more about Ms. Steinberg’s programs and services at: www.alternativeintervention.org.

Mr. Jackson reminds us that October is the month that we observe Anti-Bullying Prevention; but, Anti-Bullying and Anti-Violence, should be practiced 365 days a year in your homes, schools and the playgrounds; and, on the Internet.  We must preach and practice embracing our diversity, sensitivity, tolerance and mutual respect for others.