Jackie Bledsoe Jr. sits down with the NFL Players Choir, who has partnered with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital to help kids like Markell Gregoire
Did you know the NFL has a choir? I had no idea, but a couple weekends ago I found out about it and had the chance to sit down and talk with two of its members.
The NFL Players Choir is the only all NFL players choir in the world, and is made up of roughly 40 current and former NFL players. At each Super Bowl the choir performs during the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. In addition, a core group of players occasionally travel throughout the year and perform at other events.
Singing for a cause
And they aren’t just touring and performing because their “NFL money” ran out, or they have such great voices. While they do have great voices, portions of the money the choir receives goes to help sick kids with diseases such as cancer and sickle cell anemia.
With so much negative media about the NFL and the off-field activities, this is definitely something people should know about. The NFL Players Choir has partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help fund their research and care for these children and their families.
St. Jude is the leader in the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Each year St. Jude hosts an event in Memphis, called the St. Jude Celebration of Hope Seminar Weekend, where they invite many of their media partners and top supporters.
A conversation with NFL Players Choir members
I attended this past weekend’s event and met former Buffalo Bill, Bryan Scott, and former New England Patriot, Olrick Johnson, both core members of the NFL Players Choir. We sat down and talked about St. Jude, the Players Choir, their NFL careers, and their families.
While the conversation was about a serious topic, we enjoyed a few laughs, especially as Olrick and Bryan answered my question about “cuts” for the Players Choir. The consensus was that every NFL player is welcome as their are no “cuts,” or choir combines, but some players just may not get their chance at the mic, they may have to stay in the back. They were joking as that was all in fun.
There are good guys in the NFL
The overall theme of our conversation was the NFL Players Choir is more than a singing group. They are an example of guys, NFL guys, who are living right and are positive role models who not only take care of their families, but support great organizations like St. Jude.
I walked away from our conversion happy to meet them both, but happier about the way they are representing the NFL, and strategically working as a team to impact others and reach objectives using the platforms they have.
If you have never heard or watched the NFL Players Choir, below is a YouTube video for you to check out.
I’ve also included some info about St. Jude, and a YouTube video about a 10-year-old St. Jude patient, Markell Gregoire, who for all the adversity he has faced has an unstoppable creative spirit and passion for life. Markell was invited to the NFL Draft and the set of the NFL on Fox Sports.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food. St. Jude families bills are paid through the contributions of primarily individual donors (75% of donations come from individuals like you and I)
- St. Jude has helped push U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20 to 80 percent overall
- St. Jude is working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90% within the next decade
- St. Jude freely shares it’s research with hospitals and doctors worldwide, while the typical practice is to sell research to other individuals and organizations
- St. Jude provides housing, accredited schooling, and meals with food primarily from their own gardens on-site in addition to the medical care provided
Markell May Have Cancer, But He’s Unstoppable
NFL Players Choir!
Are you familiar with the NFL Players Choir or St. Jude prior to reading this post?
This article originally appeared on USAFootball.com.
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(Photo Credit: Author)
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