Baltimore Ravens safety Anthony Levine’s parenting moment helped him realize what other parents may be struggling with. Getting his kids connected to virtual learning pushed him to help other families do the same. Some are not able to afford the equipment.
“I know me as a kid, there’s no way my mom could afford this,” Levine said in a statement . “If the school isn’t providing it, how are the kids going to learn?” Very humble of him to ask himself a question like that. Good to see that it led to action from the 33 year old.
His foundation, 4EVERY1 began helping families in Maryland, Georgia, and Michigan by giving them mobile hot spots for 8 devices and 9 months. “People always say that all the time, you can be anything you want to be, but do we actually push kids to be whatever they really want to be?” Levine said. “We’ve got to get out of the mold of keep pushing our kids to just be athletes.”
Levine’s struggles turned into success for other kids.
We don’t hear as much as we used to about the backstories of NFL stars. It feels like only hear about the Superstars or the “bad boys”. Anthony Levine’s story is one that I wasn’t aware of.
The Louisiana-born safety struggled in school due a learning disability. As Ravens reporter for ESPN, Jamison Hensley shares, “he was told just to make sure his grade-point average was above 2.0 so he could be eligible for football and track.” Where he could have made mediocrity a norm, he elected to push other kids to be the best they can be. He offers them opportunities that he never got as a child.
Even he is continuing to push the bar for himself. He’s currently studying for a Master’s Degree in social work. You know, when he’s not playing on NFL gamedays.
I appreciate learning more about Levine. Enjoyed these words from Ravens Special Teams Coach, Chris Horton: “”He’s not only just a good player, but he’s a coach. He’s like having an extra coach out there, because he’ll see things. He does a great job of helping those young guys.”
Levine and the Baltimore Ravens are set to take on the Cleveland Browns for Monday Night Football. The game will be 8:15 PM EST on NBC, ESPN, and others.
