Jamie Reidy applauds the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for signing Eric LeGrand, who is recovering from paralysis.
Just got a little dusty in my home office.
The Associated Press reports that Buccanneer head coach Greg Schiano called his former player today:
Eric LeGrand’s football coach at Rutgers helped him emotionally in the months after his on-field paralysis. Now the coach is symbolically helping him realize his dream of making it to the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced Wednesday they’ve signed the former defensive tackle who was partially paralyzed in a 2010 game to their 90-man off-season roster.
Sounds to me like the Good Men Project and Buccaneer Men have similar aspirations:
Schiano said that heading into last week’s NFL draft, he “couldn’t help but think that this should’ve been Eric’s draft class. This small gesture is the least we could do to recognize his character, spirit, and perseverance. The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men,” Schiano said in a Buccaneers news release Wednesday.
Here is a video of Eric LeGrand and what he’s up to now:
Eric, the GMP salutes you!
Jsebastian, he’s not actually going to play. It was just a symbolic move by the team to acknowledge how far Eric has come in his recovery.
Had he not been injured, he would have been drafted by some NFL team for real, so the Buccaneers just tried to give him that thrill of the phone call on draft day.
how can he play if he is paralyzed?
Yeah, inspiration and sportsmanship and role models and all that stuff. Win one for the Gipper, etc. I’m thinking he’s also a great reference point for the coaches to use to rein in out-of-control egos on the team. “Really, you’re not coming to training camp because you want a slightly higher salary? Do you know how flippin’ lucky you are just to be walking right now?” No more “sorry I missed the practice because I overslept.” The response: “do you know how hard it is to get ready in the morning when you’re paralyzed?” No one is going to want… Read more »