What’s Right is Wrong

By MikeBullock  |   Tuesday, August 24, 2010  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
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When the NFL first rose above baseball as the most popular sport in America, it did so on the backs of men touted as great role models, men America’s youth could embrace as guys they wanted to be when they grew up. United Way commercials showing pro players helping kids and families were as prominent back in the day as cell phone commercials are now. Then, somewhere in the 1980s, it was suddenly fashionable to show athletes as criminals, low lives and irresponsible self indulgers. Gone are the days where an NFL star does something selfless and inspires others on a national level. Many who do good things, do so in secrecy, as if it’s shameful to be a good man in the 21st century.

These days, between Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress, NFL players are either portrayed as deserving of derision or disdain. A small percentage of the players in the league who can’t act like responsible members of society get enough spotlight to overshadow the larger percentage who are real men. And, far more so the percentage who are genuine role models. To an outsider, it certainly appears as if the NFL is devoid of moral fiber or any sense of giving back to the community. While this is more the fault of the media than the NFL, the league itself doesn’t seem overly concerned with doing much about its tarnished collective image, despite claims to the contrary.

Thankfully, there are still men in the NFL who understand that little kids look up to them; men who know their role as “mentor from a distance” and don’t take that lightly. It seems a great deal of that upwelling springs forth in the Twin Cities, where the Minnesota Vikings, former home of the most notable modern NFL role model, Tony Dungy, have a large contingent of good men on their roster and are conspicuously lacking in the “malcontent” department.

Rookie guard Thomas Austin is one of those men, cut from the same cloth as Coach Dungy. The former Clemson Tiger spent his college years blocking for C.J. Spiller before moving up to Winter Park where he makes holes for Adrian Peterson. On the field, he’s tough and unforgiving, knowing his quarterback and running backs rely on him to keep them safe.

Off the field, Austin takes this sentiment a step further by reaching out to kids and offering himself as a role model.

It began in High School, when Austin first felt called to lead. He surrounded himself with solid role models, including his father, a career military man. After enrolling at Clemson, where he started 38 of his 39 games and achieved third team All-American honors, Austin felt the call even more. It wasn’t long before he started speaking to High School groups and serving the community through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“These are just the values my parents instilled in me,” Austin said, when asked about his initial forays into mentoring. When his fellow students were partying on spring break, Austin went on missions to Mexico where he served in orphanages, building houses and helping to feed the children. “My parents raised us to use the blessings we have to give to others.”

“It doesn’t need to be in a third world country, either,” Austin continued. “The realization set in that you don’t have to go far to serve orphans or help out the homeless. The Twin Cities is a great example, with needs all over the [area]. The Vikings do a great job of that. During OTAs we went and helped to build a playground. I’m from a small town in South Carolina and there’s poverty there, there’s poverty in the Twin Cities, it’s rampant everywhere.”

When asked about specific goals and why he felt led to do what he does, Austin replied “Well, my wife and I feel the Lord has called us to do ministry full time and right now we see that with the Minnesota Vikings. Whether that lasts two weeks or ten years, we don’t know right now. One of the great things about the NFL is there’s downtime in the offseason to do these things.”

From the teams’ real leaders of owners Zygi and Mark Wilf and coach Childress to the “spiritual leaders” such as Ryan Longwell and Chad Greenway, Austin says the drive to give back to the community and mentor youth both locally and globally is never far from the organization’s mind.

Having come up through college and now into the pros, two areas known for excess partying and self indulgence, Austin admonishes younger athletes to guard their sphere of influence.

“I have a great wife, a Godly wife who’s really encouraging to me. I try to surround myself with other men who can keep me accountable; older men who are mentoring me. These guys ask me the tough questions, to help make sure I keep my priorities straight.

“Professional athletes get a negative rep, but there are people who do that sort of stuff in all areas of life, it’s just that when you become an NFL athlete you have access to money that can help you satisfy some of those bad urges. So, I just think it’s important to never lose track of who you are as a person.

“You have to cultivate what you believe in,” continues Austin. “When I got to Clemson and now the pros I found you get exposed to things you’ve never been exposed to before and you just have to remember how you were raised and who you are as a man and not waver in that. And the biggest thing for me is to surround myself with the right people. If you put yourself in bad situations, bad stuff is going to happen, I don’t care who you are.”

Not everyone needs to be a professional athlete to be a good role model either, according to Austin. “You have people, whether they’re teammates or co-workers or whatever, that you’re around each and every day. It’s important, whether you’re a pro football player or not, to put that into [those relationships].”

When asked about team relationships and chemistry, specifically working with C.J. Spiller and now Adrian Peterson, Austin had glowing praise for his teammates past and present.

“C.J. is a tremendous athlete, one of the few guys who can score a touchdown every time he touches the ball. I see the same parallel with Adrian. It makes your job better as an offensive lineman and makes your job easier.”

Since NFL players haven’t lost the ability to inspire us all, including each other, it’s good to know some of them still take that ability seriously.

For more Vikings news and discussions, check out http://www.purplepride.org
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