Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette believes in the power of hard work and setting new goals.
That’s the lesson the former LSU star and fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft is passing down to younger generations.
Partnering with MET-Rx, Fournette, 22, agreed to have more than 700 of his trophies melted down in order to turn them into weights. Then, he donated the barbells and kettlebells to William M. Raines High School in Jacksonvile. Not only that, but he surprised the school’s football team with the gift.
“I figured my trophies at home were just collecting dust and not doing anything, so why not put them to use? The memory of them is always going to be in my mind, so this is a blessing,” Fournette told SB Nation.
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Fournette also said he plans on attending some of the team’s games in order to show his support.
Fournette lived in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward, an area pummeled by violent crime, until he was 10. Then his family moved northeast of the city and his parents sent him an all-boys school where he was shielded from street life and could turn his attention toward becoming a star athlete.
According to Sports Illustrated, Fournette wants to use his platform to create a better life for folks back in his hometown.
Grateful for his carefully choreographed journey, Fournette now wants to return the favor. For starters, he plans to open affordable day-care centers for people in low-income New Orleans neighborhoods. “Where I’m from, it’s a bucket of crabs pulling each other down,” he says. “I want to be the crab who comes out of that bucket and pulls others up.”
It’s good to see one NFL rookie already making an impact.
