Former NFL player Ricardo McDonald still inspires off the field after an eight season long career with the Bengals and Bears. McDonald was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica with his twin brother, Devon, until the age of 11 when he and his family moved to Patterson, New Jersey. There, McDonald attended Eastside High School and quickly became the star of their high school football team. He was the leading player in tackles, sacks and forced fumbles. McDonald’s excellence on the field was no different in the classroom and he was inducted into the Eastside High School Hall of Fame in 2004.
McDonald went on to graduate college at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree along with a minor in Economics. As for his football career, he was one of four freshmen to ever land a starting position on the team. McDonald earned many MVP awards, All-Big East and American honors, and was team captain his junior and senior years.
His brother, Devon, also went on to play for the University of Notre Dame (as a linebacker), was drafted to the NFL in 1993 by the Indianapolis Colts. One year later after graduation, McDonald was chosen in 1992 to play for the Cincinnati Bengals where he stayed for six seasons. During his first season McDonald was named to the All-Rookie Team. Chicago then picked him up to play two seasons with the Bears.
McDonald is happily married to his wife Tammara McDonald who have four children together in Houston, Texas. The McDonald family is heavily involved in “Champions 4 Charity” and take pleasure in helping out the community. As a Houston Texans Ambassador, Ricardo now spends his days as a motivational speaker. McDonald delivers many speeches to organizations, as well as, serving as a board member to many non-profits around the Houston area.
Most recently, Ricardo and Tammara both attended the 7th annual Smocks
and Jocks Jazz Brunch and Art Auction at the Indianapolis Art Gardens. The event was brought about to celebrate the creative abilities of former and current players outside of football. All proceeds were donated to The Gene Upshaw Player Assistance Trust Fund and VISA Arts of Indiana.
Many well known players donated their time and work for the event such as Andre Collins, Todd Marinovoch, Mike McGraw, Cory Schlesinger, Jeffery Stephenson, and Garo Yepremian. Tammara expressed, “I don’t think we saw anything we didn’t like but our favorite is the two pieces by Andre Collins. He’s actually a former teammate of ours but his talent is impeccable and we love his work. The two pieces this year really stand out.”
As far as other community work, McDonald talks about the off-season and
helping out with an organization called All Pro Sports. Ricardo explains , “The orgainization is set in impoverished communities where a significant portion of the young kids have dropped out of high school. All Pro Sports works to rally different businesses, grocery stores, pharmacies and banks to help the kids out.” Tammara chimed in to say, “We do community work year round. That is our legacy, giving back, and that is the legacy we want to leave
Pro Player Insiders was able to talk further with Ricardo McDonald and his wife Tammara McDonald.
PPI : Ricardo, this season has been awesome, players have been stepping up including rookies, who is a player that you wanna give a shout out to that you’ve been following?
RM: Two words Aldon Smith. He is a straight beast. This kid, I mean, the way he gets to the quarter back is the way a lion should hunt, and this kid hunts every single day. I love the way he hunts! I got a chance to talk to him about how he plays at the defensive end. I could go on and on and talk about him, he’s something big coming up on the 49ers. (49ers General Manager T. Baalke recently confirmed OLB Aldon Smith is working toward a full time role in 2012.)
PPI : It is the off season, what are some of the things you guys you’ve done in the community, travels, or business ventures ?
RM: One of the organizations that we sit on called “All Pro Sports.” It is set in an impoverish community where a significant portion of the young kids who basically drop out of high school. We all have teamed up and are basically set up to attend camps. From an organizational stand point, the kids are also able to go out and help their community, work at grocery stores, pharmacy, and also banks.
TM: We actually do community work year round. My husband is in the Texan Ambassadors, so we do a lot of charity work with them and the community. Sickle cell research is big thing we support. Ricardo has the sickle cell trait; his sister has full blown sickle cell, so we sit on the organization in Houston. It is because of that organization that we now have a full research center at Texas Children Hospital, which is dedicated to finding a cure. So that’s big for us! On top of that we still help out with a lot of different charities including Off the Field Players Wives Association. The Off the Field women do community work year round. This is our legacy, giving back, and that’s the legacy we want to leave.
PPI: Besides smocks and jocks, what has been your favorite event here in Indianapolis?
RM: Got a chance to up with a bunch of the different hall of famers like JamesLofton and Charles Arbuckle. We have had a great time getting together with some of the younger guys who are playing today, and all in all, Smocks and Jocks was a great event.
Interview Conducted by Pro Player Insiders Theresa Villano
-Written by Gabrielle Chiddy
