This Buc's good deed deserves attention
By ERNEST HOOPER
Published April 13, 2007
Bad boy NFL players Adam "Pacman" Jones and Chris Henry made headlines this week, but it's the league's good guys, like Buccaneer Ryan Nece, who deserve them.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Henry, a Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver, for half a season after police arrested him four times in a 14-month span.
Goodell suspended Jones for an entire year because of his alleged involvement in 10 separate criminal incidents, including inciting a shooting spree at a Las Vegas strip club that ended with three people wounded, including one man who remains paralyzed.
Jones allegedly tossed thousands of dollar bills into the air at the club and then tried to retrieve them.
Of course, while Jones makes it rain money in nude bars, other NFL players spread sunshine.
Nece officially launches his charitable foundation at a swank gala at the Tampa Yacht and Country Club on April 20. He does so not to meet a team requirement, fulfill a court order or clean up his image.
"One of the things I've done in my last five years is spend a lot of time in the community working with different charities," said Nece, who joined the team in 2002 out of UCLA. "I have a passion for the Tampa Bay community and a passion for helping others, but I found that I was spreading myself thin.
"The foundation is going to help me develop a focus on some of the areas that I see need help."
Nece already has developed two components for the foundation, a recognition program for high school students and a charitable arm designed to help deserving individuals and families with physical, financial and spiritual needs. Those in need will be able to make requests through the Web site www.ryannece56.com, and the foundation will try to fulfill the requests, sometimes with the help of other agencies.
"Our goal is that at some point, they'll be able to go help someone else," Nece explained. "It's like that movie, Pay It Forward. I call it pass it along."
In essence, Nece is doing his own version of paying it forward. His mother Cathy Nece and his more famous father, NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, instilled in him a sense of giving.
But teammates like Derrick Brooks, Shelton Quarles and former Buc John Lynch gave him examples to follow.
Thursday, Nece joined Lynch in Washington, D.C., as one of 10 recipients of a "JB Award," a recognition from CBS sports personality James Brown and the NFL Players Association that they "achieve excellence off the field through building better communities and stronger families."
It's a nice award for nice guys, but don't look for it to be the lead story on SportsCenter, or the centerpiece on the sports pages.
The league made the right move in suspending Jones and Henry. It needs to protect its image, but it also can enhance that image by shining a brighter spotlight on guys like Nece.
And it wouldn't hurt our sports media outlets to lend a hand.
That's all I'm saying.
Fast Facts:
If you go
What: Magic In The Making Gala (to benefit the Ryan Nece Foundation)When: April 20Where: Tampa Yacht and Country ClubFor more information: Visit www.ryannece56. com or call (813)251-3624