WASHINGTON— VIDEO – Redskins London Fletcher joined U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) Tuesday to welcome a team of 25 students for an event focused on making healthy living choices.
Fletcher, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker, started his own foundation in 2003. The London’s Bridge Foundation mentors underprivileged and underrepresented students—in Cleveland, Washington, D.C, Charlotte and Buffalo—on leadership, teamwork, education and healthy living. The students, who attend MacFarland Middle School in the District, are mentees in the London’s Bridge Foundation.
“The focus on young children is near and dear to my heart,” Fletcher said. “I felt like it was my responsibility to give back to the community.”
The captain of the Redskins defense told the students, “It’s important for you to get out and exercise at least 60 minutes a day if you want to live a long and healthy life.”
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An inner-city Cleveland native and graduate of Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School and John Carroll University, Fletcher has played for the St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills and the Redskins. Fletcher was a 2010 finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, a four-time Washington Redskins Man of the Year and was the NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1998. He won a Super Bowl with the Rams in 1998 and has never missed a game in his 14-year career.
Quite the success story for a player who originally went to college on a basketball scholarship, was passed over by every NFL club in the draft and was deemed too small to excel at middle linebacker.
“With a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice, I’ve been able to play in the NFL for 14 years now,” said Fletcher, who estimated that he does about 15 hours of cardiovascular work weekly during the season. “It’s a matter of believing in yourself and finding the one person who believes in you.
“It’s not a failure if you don’t make it; it’s a failure if you don’t try. Stay firm … and reach for your goals,” he continued.
Brown, whose current Senate office was previously used by President Obama, authored the Hunger-Free Schools Act of 2010. Brown, a leading Senate voice for ending childhood hunger and ensuring that students have access to nutritious meals year-round, joined Fletcher to welcome the students to the U.S. Capitol. Brown and Fletcher walked a lunch line with the students, helping them select nutritious, balanced meals that will allow them to lead active, healthy lives.
As part of the London Bridge Foundation’s commitment to encouraging daily exercise and physical activity in young adults, Fletcher and the students also took a walking tour of the Capitol and discussed the importance of mentors during a panel discussion on leadership development.
“London Fletcher does this in a big way, but there are a lot of people who do it in small ways,” Brown told the students. “Don’t think if you fall down once, that you can’t get back up.”
Photos by District Photography
