“History teaches us what happened, while mirrors reflect its impact,” former NFL player Roy Hall told The American Reporter in a recent interview. Hall, whose professional football career ended after a violent in-game injury in 2007, left Hall with three more years of hellish injuries.However, he wasn’t done just yet, transforming his mentality into a “how can I respond to this” scenario.
Hall is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Driven Foundation, which he launched with his former Ohio State teammate, Antonio Smith in 2008. Since its inception, the Foundation’s mission is to “provide families with basic needs to combat poverty and promote independence,” according to its website. Over the last 12 years, the Driven Foundation has distributed over 1.25 million pounds of free food to over 9,000 Ohio families.
That’s how Hall chose to respond. He used his platform for a greater purpose, and it was a path that took focus, dedication, and heart – all things he needed to succeed on and off the field. It is a choice that does not come without challenges…as Hall talked more about his journey.
“I watched how people reacted when I told them I was hurt, or exposed teams to my injury history,” he explained. “I watched how players reacted to their own rehab. Some worked extremely hard, while others were trapped in depression. Life is 10-percent what happens to you, and 90-percent of how you respond to it. There are things in life that happen that you have no control over, but what you can control is your response when things don’t go your way.”
Since leaving the NFL and entering into the motivational and philanthropic communities, Hall recognized the importance (and priority) of leveraging public platforms to continue raising awareness about issues plaguing our communities today.
Through the Foundation, Hall focuses on young people, sharing his purpose and helping them to find theirs. “When a child looks in the mirror they should understand who they are, how they got here, and their purpose,” said Hall, a devoted father of two children. He emphasizes the need for parents to give their children the truth when it comes to the world around them.
“Media platforms today withhold details. Textbooks will omit the fine points. Parents, guardians, and caregivers have a responsibility to educate themselves FIRST, and then teach their kids the entire history of the country, and why we have so many inexcusable, hate filled tragedies. What parents teach their children will dictate how the next 30 years play out. It’s an unparalleled responsibility.”
Addressing the recent verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial of George Floyd, Hall says that before today’s youth can be taught how to be leaders, basic human needs need to be considered, beginning with providing underserved populations with resources they lack.
“The Derek Chauvin/George Floyd Trial results, #MeToo, and the various monumental topics, do not change the fact that people need to eat; kids need to be taught how to be leaders, and basic human needs are at a shortage in the communities that we serve. Before I can talk to a 6th-grader about the significance of a ‘guilty verdict,’ I need to make sure that he or she has eaten breakfast!”
Hall said for the Foundation, 2020-2021 year has been the most fulfilling yet through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had to figure out a way to still serve the people and families like we always have. With more people having time at home it gave us an opportunity to have conversations and plan with teams and groups that may not have had time before. We also knew that we wanted to keep helping people no matter what. We decided to go to a delivery model, and made sure we provided all food, hygiene, and clothing items through a drop-off model. We pride ourselves in being consistent.”
But at the end of the day, Hall is a professional who wants to leverage his platforms beyond that of a sports athlete, all of which requires mental toughness and persistence.
“I didn’t drop out of the NFL. I was 1/160 NFL wide receivers for 4 years. There are 7.8 billion people in the world. I had a .0000000205 chance of making it to the NFL. It was almost an impossible dream but giving up was impossible for my mother. You have to win when you have that strength running through your veins, and that’s something that will carry through everything we do.”
