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Athlete gets praise; comedian gets break

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published June 28, 2005

Warrick Dunn has received a cache of awards for his charitable efforts, but the trophies and plaques never manage to outshine his humility.

Dunn, the former Bucs running back who still resides in Tampa in the offseason, was named the 2005 Good Guy of the Year by The Sporting News on Monday. The recognition comes in the wake of Dunn receiving the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in February.

But don't think for a minute that Dunn, who now plays for the Atlanta Falcons, has become enamored with such accolades. The focus always has been on helping families through his Homes for the Holidays program, and he intends to keep it there.

"I accept them," Dunn said of the awards. "I'm happy and definitely humbled by them. It's an honor as always. You can't deny them, but the important thing is that people understand and realize all the things I stand for.

"The recognition is great, but I'm just trying to help people."

The Sporting News ' Good Guy Award is given each year to help counter the prevailing and false impression that all athletes are selfish and do more wrong than good. The only surprise about Monday's announcement is that Dunn didn't win sooner.

For eight years, Dunn's foundation has assisted hardworking single mothers in owning their first homes in Tampa, Atlanta and his hometown of Baton Rouge, La. Dunn places $5,000 toward a down payment and, with sponsors, helps fully furnish the homes.

This year, he plans on expanding the program to Tallahassee, where he starred for Florida State University. A goal of getting players in other cities to follow his blueprint also is coming into focus. Kansas City's Dante Hall and San Diego's Drayton Florence have signed on to deliver similar dreams. Bucs linebacker Shelton Quarles will continue to help Dunn in Tampa and take the effort to his hometown of Nashville.

Dunn said he would like to extend his program to single fathers. Still, as the product of a single mom who was tragically killed when he was a teenager, Dunn's heart lies with helping other single moms.

"There's so many guys in the league who grew up in the same situation with single moms," Dunn said. "When you start looking at the divorce rate and how a lot of people are growing up without being able to have a father in their life, I want to help those moms and those kids so they don't have to struggle."

Comedian Chris Rock is apparently one father who is there for his kids. While vacationing at Disney-MGM Studios last week, I spotted Rock with his family. It was a memorable brush with greatness, but even more memorable was the reaction of the other folks at the theme park.

With the exception of my two boys, who went up to shake his hand, Rock largely went unbothered as we sat and watched a Playhouse Disney show for preschoolers. No one jockeyed for autographs or asked for photos, and that's not entirely uncommon at the Disney theme parks.

Reactions to celebrities vary, said Julie Morris, operations manager of Disney special activities. Some celebrities don't draw a lot of attention because park attendees only expect to see Mickey and Minnie. Morris said it's not until fans walk by the celebrity that they stop and say, Hey, wasn't that ... ?

I might have done the same thing, but I had extra time to size up Rock in his red floppy hat because we were waiting for the same show. Of course, the other tip-off was that he was accompanied by two Disney employees.

Morris explained that celebrities often take advantage of Disney's VIP services, which are available to anyone. For $125 an hour (minimum five hours), the park will map out itineraries, including meals and shows. The escorts, who can spend entire day with VIPs, are well-trained about theme parks and handling fans.

According to Morris, some celebs welcome the attention and are willing to pose for photographs and sign autographs. Others are simply trying to spend time with family and want to go unbothered.

I'm not sure where Rock fell between those two extremes, but the idealist in me wants to believe that high-minded folks left him alone because they knew he needed a break.

That's all I'm saying.

--Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 28, 2005, 01:46:16]