Speaker 1: Welcome to the NFL Legends Podcast, an NFL podcast for
Speaker 1: the players, by the players. Hello and welcome to the
Speaker 1: NFL Legends Podcast. My name is Darryl Campbell, former NFL
Speaker 1: player and current associate producer in NFL Films. I am
Speaker 1: sitting in for our main host, the one and only
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame great Anius Williams Um. Today we'll be
Speaker 1: speaking with two awesome and amazing NFL player wives, Shannon
Speaker 1: Whitehead and Desire Vincent Levy. I'm saying that right there
Speaker 1: is right is it? LEVI? Is that Levy? See Bayham
Speaker 1: already messed it up from the jump, but that's okay.
Speaker 1: Set in Whitehead and desire Vincent Levy. Um. They will
Speaker 1: shed light and inside on how they manage things that
Speaker 1: arise in the NFL household, from parenthood to social justice initiatives,
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen pandemic, RELO location, trying to stay sane with kids,
Speaker 1: and all sorts of things rolling around. But I think
Speaker 1: at the core of this, when we get done, we
Speaker 1: want to have a better understanding of who you are,
Speaker 1: your voices, and let's just jump right into it first
Speaker 1: and foremost full transparency. This thing was supposed to happen
Speaker 1: a long time ago, and it is my fault wholeheartedly.
Speaker 1: My schedule has not been forgiven, and I apologize for that.
Speaker 1: Lady here, you know how you know it's it's crazy,
Speaker 1: and I know you guys can understand because things are
Speaker 1: just popping off left and right. Um, but yeah, it
Speaker 1: should have haven a long time ago. And I'm just
Speaker 1: glad and blessed that you guys are on. Um, dad's
Speaker 1: got the butter whipped, that's spinning up into the top.
Speaker 1: I love it. You know, was saying she got the
Speaker 1: hair down. She would have had the bonding on this,
Speaker 1: and she would have had the bonding on us. Let's
Speaker 1: jump right into it. I want to get to know
Speaker 1: you guys. I want your voices to be heard. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about your husband's let's talk about how you guys
Speaker 1: have met, and let's just get a little bit of
Speaker 1: your story. Sin you went first. I was seventeen when
Speaker 1: I met my husband. Um, he had a crush on me.
Speaker 1: I don't really want them, but we're here now right now. Um, yeah,
Speaker 1: I was seventeen. Um, we grew up in Jersey, both
Speaker 1: Jersey kids. Um, and yeah, it's it's it's been on
Speaker 1: and on from then. Uh, he went to Temple, I
Speaker 1: went to Morgan State until he got drafted. Um we
Speaker 1: got drafted. I say we because it's been a team
Speaker 1: effort since day one. Um, he got drafted by the
Speaker 1: team and pulled me right along with him. We first
Speaker 1: started off in Detroit, the Detroit Lions. Um we played
Speaker 1: there for six years. Um. Originally I was at Morgan
Speaker 1: when he got drafted, but he said he wasn't going
Speaker 1: without me, and I gotta finish school. So I ended
Speaker 1: up transferring to um see Central Michigan University, and I've
Speaker 1: graduated from there. I'm sorry and A yeah, it's the
Speaker 1: best is still in written. So we're going. We're still
Speaker 1: going going strong today. And uh so, so Shannon, your
Speaker 1: husband's name is tire tire white head is am I
Speaker 1: saying that I don't want to. You said it right, Whitehead? Um,
Speaker 1: who's he played for? How long has he been playing?
Speaker 1: Dropped that on me? So it'll be it's nine years
Speaker 1: this year. Um we were we started off again with Detroit,
Speaker 1: then we went to the Raiders for two years, and
Speaker 1: now we are with the Carolina Panthers. Um, we're doing good.
Speaker 1: So we're in North Carolina. We're in Charlotte right now. Awesome, Awesome,
Speaker 1: talk to me. Yep. So, my husband's name is DeAndre Levy. Um.
Speaker 1: We actually were in Detroit and tie here. Um, but
Speaker 1: we met in college freshman year. We lived in the
Speaker 1: same dorm area at u W Madison. We didn't actually
Speaker 1: date in college, we were friends. UM stayed in touch
Speaker 1: and then some years after actually um, I was living
Speaker 1: in New York and he was in Detroit, and we
Speaker 1: started a long distance relationship that eventually closed in on
Speaker 1: me moving to Detroit, and we got married and have
Speaker 1: been building a life here um ever since. Awesome. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about the next thing. Let's talk about family, man.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about the babies. You got four of them.
Speaker 1: You you, you, you are all removed from a pumpkin
Speaker 1: patch right now, Nanny, I need to hear about them
Speaker 1: from well. My life is a circus. We four boys.
Speaker 1: A lot of people ask me all the time how
Speaker 1: I do it. I don't. I just roll with the punches.
Speaker 1: You just keep it moving the best way. You know how,
Speaker 1: You try your best and you pray the rest. That's
Speaker 1: what I say all the time. And it's just it's
Speaker 1: it's it's a revolving door, something always going on. Um,
Speaker 1: it's a lot of fun. But you had to also
Speaker 1: laugh when it's not fun, because if not, you'll lose
Speaker 1: your mind. But we have four little boys. We have
Speaker 1: a six month old, we have a three year old,
Speaker 1: we have a six year old, and we have eleven
Speaker 1: year old. Took me twelve next month. Mhm, nice, nice? Alright,
Speaker 1: does you already know I'm coming for the cheeks on you?
Speaker 1: Because that little baby girl got them? You know what
Speaker 1: she tell me about it? Um. We had our first baby,
Speaker 1: uh in March with twenty nineteen. Her name is Rosie
Speaker 1: got that is pregnant. How you doing that? No? We
Speaker 1: now we got to rewind what you mean talking about you? Now?
Speaker 1: This is fun story. So me Andre, we were where
Speaker 1: were we coming from? Who knows? We were coming from Paris?
Speaker 1: The travel coples coming from Paris always they're always somewhere.
Speaker 1: It's crazy, never ever in my life. Yeah, but we
Speaker 1: were coming from Paris and we had our layover actually
Speaker 1: in Atlanta, and we just didn't tell the white heads.
Speaker 1: They knew we lived there, but they didn't tell us.
Speaker 1: Hold on, y'all lived at this No there, No, we
Speaker 1: were all walking through the airport and we like so random,
Speaker 1: random to Shannon and time here, and I feel like
Speaker 1: we started talking and I think maybe told you that,
Speaker 1: you know, we were thinking about trying to have our
Speaker 1: first child or something like that. And then Shannon told
Speaker 1: me how every time she interacts with someone, they end
Speaker 1: up pregnant. Um. But I told her to rub my
Speaker 1: quote I said, just touched my hand and she was
Speaker 1: like what. I was like, touched my head. It's nothing crazy,
Speaker 1: it's not I'm just the Lord has just blessed me
Speaker 1: to be fruitful. And I just listened. I said, go
Speaker 1: I said watch, it's like weird. I said, go ahead,
Speaker 1: and I said, touch my You'll be pregnant next month.
Speaker 1: And do you know that she caught me. I was like,
Speaker 1: you'll never believe this, and she's like, we're pregnant. Oh again,
Speaker 1: got a pregnant. It's it's weird. It's weird. But I
Speaker 1: just think I just like, I truly believe that you
Speaker 1: speak things into existence and we have positive energy, positive people,
Speaker 1: and I pray for my people, and I just I
Speaker 1: was like, watch, you're gonna be pregnant. And then just
Speaker 1: like that just like that really was but like so,
Speaker 1: but just to be technical, um, I was doing the math.
Speaker 1: I was technically just love killing on it here. Well,
Speaker 1: i'll tell you what. Let me can I get saying it?
Speaker 1: Can I just get a digital high five right now?
Speaker 1: Just because I want to have a baby girl and
Speaker 1: I need that. I don't know none about girls, even
Speaker 1: though she had a girl, I don't look. I can try.
Speaker 1: We can try lose am that I got two of them.
Speaker 1: That way I can. Yeah, there we go. All right, Well, girl,
Speaker 1: I need your help with with the girls. I need
Speaker 1: everybody's help with the girl. You're trying to get one too.
Speaker 1: We we now, I want to girl. I never wanted
Speaker 1: a girl before. I always said that I wanted all
Speaker 1: boys first, and then I would do a girl. Do
Speaker 1: a girl because she might be a lot. I'm a lot. Okay,
Speaker 1: all right? UH want the boy? You want? You on
Speaker 1: the best of both worlds day. You're trying to get
Speaker 1: a boy with you know whatever, whatever we're blessed with,
Speaker 1: I'll be happy with. That's it. That's all right. Next
Speaker 1: up on the doc, let's let's jump into this COVID
Speaker 1: because it's affecting everybody. Thousand cases reported daily. We're shuffling
Speaker 1: broadcasts around just so we can get games because you know,
Speaker 1: players are you know they're contracting this thing. Um. It
Speaker 1: was so good in the beginning and now I just
Speaker 1: like it was crazy, Like it was like it was
Speaker 1: we thought it was cool, smooth ceiling, and then bam
Speaker 1: we get our first second. It's unbell lievable. But how
Speaker 1: are we coping with that family saying like, I know
Speaker 1: you gotta tell you you know, tiers out there bawling
Speaker 1: doing this thing. I mean, how are you nervous? Are you?
Speaker 1: How you how you handling this thing? UM proceeding with caution,
Speaker 1: We just Um he doesn't come home until he's tested negative,
Speaker 1: which is kind of midweek, and even then it's still
Speaker 1: a risk. He kind of walks around with a mask
Speaker 1: all day. He really doesn't interact with our baby, UM
Speaker 1: because he's again six months and you'd have to hold him.
Speaker 1: So it's just been really just it hasn't been fun. Um.
Speaker 1: We're getting through it. Our team has not had any
Speaker 1: to my knowledge, UM, which I think I know, but
Speaker 1: UM hasn't had any players that UM tested positive for
Speaker 1: the virus, So we've been good thus far. But I
Speaker 1: know a lot of teams that we have UM or
Speaker 1: are going to play, or a lot of other teams
Speaker 1: in the NFL have tested positive. And it's been really
Speaker 1: are wrecking for a lot of the women. I know.
Speaker 1: In the beginning, UM, everybody was just super nervous about it.
Speaker 1: It actually went off pretty well in the beginning, but
Speaker 1: now it just seems like everything's crumbling. Um. Some women
Speaker 1: are with their husbands this season because of it. UM,
Speaker 1: and the NFL has really tried their best, and I'm
Speaker 1: I definitely appreciate their efforts in trying to get us
Speaker 1: connected with our husband. Still I am here, but a
Speaker 1: lot of women did not come. UM. I know one
Speaker 1: girl that her husband purchased a trailer on their their
Speaker 1: their land so that he can be home without really
Speaker 1: being home. UM. Yeah, So it's just been weird, just
Speaker 1: weird things that we've kind of had to come up with. Tired,
Speaker 1: we don't sleep together in the same bed, and if
Speaker 1: ever it's been long enough since he's you know, quarantined
Speaker 1: and tested negative consistently, we might sleep He'll sleep with
Speaker 1: his feet towards me and his head the other way.
Speaker 1: It's just we've just come up with different things to
Speaker 1: kind of just ensure everyone's safety. Um, and it really
Speaker 1: really stinks. It really stinks. It's been rough, but we're
Speaker 1: trying to get through it. So straight. He hasn't even
Speaker 1: held the baby yet because of the COVID stuff without
Speaker 1: a mask, I mean until unless it's been because for
Speaker 1: my understanding, the way the virus works, it can live
Speaker 1: dormant in your body for a couple of days. So
Speaker 1: he maybe, like towards the end of the week, he'll
Speaker 1: interact a little more, but when he comes from from game, well,
Speaker 1: he doesn't come home from games, and then eventually he'll
Speaker 1: come home wear a mask for a while, and right
Speaker 1: before the next game is when he finally feels comfortable
Speaker 1: enough to interact. But then we're going right back in.
Speaker 1: So maybe a couple of days out the week, right, man, Wow,
Speaker 1: that's crue. I wouldn't know what to do if I
Speaker 1: can hold my baby boy or just even my wife.
Speaker 1: Man sleeping, I know, I sleep wild anyway, so I
Speaker 1: probably I do all types of damage. But anyway, that's
Speaker 1: neither here nor there. Plus my feet ain't really all
Speaker 1: that great anyway, him, that's just a lot of years
Speaker 1: on them. Um. Yes, talk to me about how you
Speaker 1: feeling about this COVID stuff and everything, especially with the
Speaker 1: baby girl, and you know, talk to me. Yeah, So
Speaker 1: I won't um like be in close quarters with anyone
Speaker 1: unless I know and I like I need hard facts
Speaker 1: and receipts straight up all being tested. The mutual space
Speaker 1: is safe. But my daughter, she hasn't been um in
Speaker 1: a store or anything like that probably since early March now,
Speaker 1: just because she's at that age where like everything goes
Speaker 1: in her mouth and she's and I would make it
Speaker 1: a headache, you know, going to the grocery store or
Speaker 1: to Target or anything like that. But so one thing
Speaker 1: I just wanted to add to mental health is at
Speaker 1: top of mind for me, especially as we're going into
Speaker 1: the wintertime, because historically I've dealt with seasonal effective disorder.
Speaker 1: So one of the things that I've been talking with
Speaker 1: my counselor about a lot is just being proactive and
Speaker 1: like coming up what's my strategy. So, like, the one
Speaker 1: thing that we talked about was what she's calling like
Speaker 1: owning the season. And one of the ways that I'm
Speaker 1: gonna own the season is walk every day, so it
Speaker 1: doesn't matter if it's raining, snowing, cold, whatever, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: get up and I'm going to commit to myself to
Speaker 1: walking for thirty minutes every day. Um, just as one
Speaker 1: of my tactics to kind of manage mental health within
Speaker 1: the wintertime. But then with the layer of you know,
Speaker 1: COVID on top of that and just all of the
Speaker 1: anxiety and things like that that are um related to it.
Speaker 1: And I agree with that. I know a couple of
Speaker 1: my friends they've gotten into meditation real tough. And I
Speaker 1: didn't really know what it was. And I thought, it's like,
Speaker 1: you know, when you watch like old school Samurai show
Speaker 1: Down Samurai Samurai Sunday, you see the the ninjas just
Speaker 1: sitting there just like doing their thing, you know, And
Speaker 1: I thought that was what meditation is. And I'm like,
Speaker 1: I ain't doing that in my office. That ain't gonna
Speaker 1: it ain't gonna suffice. But when I learned a little
Speaker 1: bit more about it and I tried to get and
Speaker 1: I gave it a chance, it was something that actually
Speaker 1: can you help you decompress and you know, get in
Speaker 1: a mental space where you can, like you said, you
Speaker 1: just win the day, you know what I mean sees today, Um, Sanna,
Speaker 1: do you do anything like that? I mean, you got
Speaker 1: four boys. I can Oh, you need that for real
Speaker 1: talk to me. So it's every day is a battle.
Speaker 1: Every day is different. But UM, I think we talked
Speaker 1: about this a while ago. For the first time ever,
Speaker 1: I hired a nanny. I hired a nanny because I
Speaker 1: am in the process of doing some things for myself
Speaker 1: for the first time ever, UM and getting in touch
Speaker 1: with myself. If I didn't have her, I wouldn't been
Speaker 1: able to do anything. So I'm still trying to find
Speaker 1: my way and figure out what works for me. But
Speaker 1: before her, I had zero time to myself. UM. So
Speaker 1: that's the biggest UM. As a mom. I realized that
Speaker 1: if I'm not good, nobody else is, including my husband.
Speaker 1: If I'm not straight, UM, and I haven't taken care
Speaker 1: of my mental everything else is going to fall apart.
Speaker 1: So my answer to you is, no, I don't have
Speaker 1: anything in specific, UM, but I'm working on figuring out
Speaker 1: what it is. But I definitely make sure that there
Speaker 1: is a certain time every day that I get to
Speaker 1: spend with just myself, whether it's going to the grocery
Speaker 1: store by myself, whether it's um painting my toe nails,
Speaker 1: which I can't do, whether it's just literally just just
Speaker 1: whatever it is that day that I want to do,
Speaker 1: I do it by myself and I can focus on me,
Speaker 1: even if it's just sitting outside and looking at the birds.
Speaker 1: That's what I'm gonna do. So it's important, It's definitely important.
Speaker 1: Can we tell we can we talk about that that
Speaker 1: one piece where you said, you know, hey, you gotta
Speaker 1: take you gotta take care of your husband too, Because
Speaker 1: let me just go ahead and put this out there.
Speaker 1: This is the only part of this whole thing I'm
Speaker 1: gonna make about me. And this this is because it's
Speaker 1: my wife too. I am a giant toddler. Okay, I
Speaker 1: am a giant baby when it comes to any and
Speaker 1: everything that goes on in my household. If it wasn't
Speaker 1: for my wife, I wouldn't even be here. I wouldn't
Speaker 1: be doing this, you know what I mean. So can
Speaker 1: we talk about that piece? How it's not just Shannon
Speaker 1: with your four boys, You gotta fifth entire year. Okay,
Speaker 1: And you know, I can't speak for DeAndre, but I
Speaker 1: know that all of us players are in that giant
Speaker 1: tydler phase and it never goes away. Talk about that
Speaker 1: piece for a for a second. It is the same
Speaker 1: way with them ever grow up. I tell people that,
Speaker 1: and I might getting concur we don't. I'm getting trumble
Speaker 1: for that later. What do you mean? But you know what, um,
Speaker 1: strong neck, what do you mean? I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1: He's not don't get me wrong. He is the leader
Speaker 1: of our family. He is an excellent leader. But every
Speaker 1: head needs a neck and every other body. Absolutely, I
Speaker 1: definitely hold it down seriously, wife like right the neck.
Speaker 1: But I totally um a great I I tell people
Speaker 1: all the time when I'm kind of aggravated, I said,
Speaker 1: I got four kids, not including my husband. Um. But
Speaker 1: at the same time, UM, I just he's the leader
Speaker 1: of the home, but I am the maker of the home.
Speaker 1: So just to double back when when I'm not good,
Speaker 1: I realized that I set the tone in the home.
Speaker 1: If I have anxiety, if I am frantic, if I
Speaker 1: am unhappy, if I am aggravated, it literally is like
Speaker 1: a domino effect. Everything starts to collapse. I noticed that, Um,
Speaker 1: when I'm tired. If I don't, if I'm tired or
Speaker 1: something's bothering me, my patience level depreciates, you know, it's
Speaker 1: it goes. So that is one important thing that I
Speaker 1: learned that I have to and it's gonna sound so crazy.
Speaker 1: I have to put myself first because when I put
Speaker 1: myself first and make sure that Shannon is well rested,
Speaker 1: Shannon is fad. I forget to eat. I forget to
Speaker 1: eat um, and then I'm breastfeeding. So it's like when
Speaker 1: you forget to eat, you gotta the baby sucking the
Speaker 1: life out of you. And then it's like, I'm really
Speaker 1: just out of it. So when I put myself first,
Speaker 1: and again that was a that was hiring it in.
Speaker 1: That was just saying, hey, I'm realizing the pattern here
Speaker 1: um that my husband I he comes home from work
Speaker 1: and my energies immediately transferred to him. So everything just
Speaker 1: started going. I said, you know what, I need to
Speaker 1: just start putting myself first in a weird way. Yes,
Speaker 1: my I'm putting my family first by putting me first.
Speaker 1: That makes sense. That makes absolute sense. There's you got
Speaker 1: any chime or that you feel like you gotta have
Speaker 1: those moments where you gotta put yourself first when you
Speaker 1: come home. You know, well, I feel like putting yourself
Speaker 1: first as a constant, always, an ongoing um, the thing
Speaker 1: that I hold on to where I can't remember if
Speaker 1: I got this from my mom or for someone else.
Speaker 1: But you can't serve or pour from an empty cup.
Speaker 1: So you need to make sure all the ways that
Speaker 1: you need to be well to show up in the world,
Speaker 1: to show up in your family or wherever else you
Speaker 1: need to show up that you are well. And I
Speaker 1: mean I know myself best to know what those things are,
Speaker 1: how how I feel when I'm showing up in a
Speaker 1: full way. UM. So one of the things that we,
Speaker 1: after some um, really detailed discussions, have we worked out
Speaker 1: is having a schedule UM, which I know that's not
Speaker 1: realistic for everyone because everyone doesn't have like, you know,
Speaker 1: two parents at home and only one working right now
Speaker 1: or whatever. But we have a schedule basically Monday through Thursday.
Speaker 1: We split the day at two thirty, so one half
Speaker 1: of the day, UM DeAndre has taking the lead with
Speaker 1: our daughter. Some of that my hands are free to
Speaker 1: just do whatever that is, Like if it's me needing
Speaker 1: to work, me needing to just take care of me
Speaker 1: or work out or whatever it is, I can do
Speaker 1: that um. And then we split the day UM so
Speaker 1: that h DeAndre has seen say it is free to
Speaker 1: do and focus on whatever he needs to focus on,
Speaker 1: and then on Friday's I have a full day, Saturday,
Speaker 1: he has a full day, and then Sunday is our
Speaker 1: family day. UM. So that's how we split the week,
Speaker 1: and since we've been really committed to that timeline, it's
Speaker 1: worked out really well. Um with someone being you know,
Speaker 1: focused and attended to our daughter, but then also both
Speaker 1: of us just having the time and freedom to do
Speaker 1: what we need to do. That's pretty cool. I should
Speaker 1: be taking notes to this right now because implement that
Speaker 1: right you know what I'm saying. I need that hairdresser
Speaker 1: can't catch me on Friday. I got up and he's
Speaker 1: gonna have to Just I'll tell you what you know.
Speaker 1: Being on with y'all, I mean, I'm feeling like it's
Speaker 1: Friday today. Man. I'm just I'm soaking this all in.
Speaker 1: I need this right now. I appreciate you'all for real. Um. Next,
Speaker 1: next on the doctor, we got social justice and community
Speaker 1: service initiatives. Talk to me each of you about everything
Speaker 1: that you're involved with with respective social justice community service
Speaker 1: day is. I'm gonna start with you what you've got going. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: so I guess I'll start where I am right now.
Speaker 1: So currently, UM, I work, I've worked since my daughter's
Speaker 1: and born. I work freelance. UM. So currently I have
Speaker 1: a contract with the Michigan Voting Coalition UM on their
Speaker 1: election protection program, and I've been spearheading all of their
Speaker 1: creative work in the community. So we have a public
Speaker 1: arts initiative that's been rolling out in its murals and
Speaker 1: six cities across Michigan that has a high population of
Speaker 1: historically disenfranchised voters. UM. We're also recruiting pole workers and
Speaker 1: UM we've been writing now your Rights guides and a
Speaker 1: whole slet of things that is focused on educating voters
Speaker 1: in Michigan of their options to cast their ballots UM
Speaker 1: early and on the elect on election Day on November three. UM.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna be doing that, Yeah, I guess through
Speaker 1: the rest of the year more or less. I mean
Speaker 1: obviously the election of November three, but that's not my
Speaker 1: primary focus, and then all of the follow up after UM.
Speaker 1: But outside of that, Deander and I have a scholarship
Speaker 1: that we started in Detroit called the Regenerated Detroit Scholarship,
Speaker 1: and it's a full tuition UM culinary arts scholarship for
Speaker 1: students from the Detroit Food Academy that would like to
Speaker 1: pursue food or culinary arts as a professional career. UM
Speaker 1: that started, oh man, now wow four years ago. He
Speaker 1: feels like a lot longer um. But outside of that,
Speaker 1: that's we we I mean, we certainly give our time
Speaker 1: and our resources to organizations and people who you know,
Speaker 1: we're doing work in community to fortify and lift up
Speaker 1: the efforts that that they have. But outside of that,
Speaker 1: we've kind of just in this moment um have more
Speaker 1: or less beon being still just to see what the
Speaker 1: what are the emerging needs in the Detroit and the
Speaker 1: Traite community from COVID because every day there's something new
Speaker 1: and just kind of keeping a close postal on that
Speaker 1: to see what makes the most sense to support UM.
Speaker 1: And that's mostly in the spirit of not feeling like
Speaker 1: the need to recreate the wheel and that there are
Speaker 1: people who are in a lot closer proximity to issues
Speaker 1: that the community Detroit are experiencing. So just trusting their leading,
Speaker 1: their judgment on what they need and supporting that. I
Speaker 1: think that's the for for everybody that's listening to this.
Speaker 1: The first step to any type of change that we
Speaker 1: want to see out here, get to them, pose and vote. Okay,
Speaker 1: that's what we need to do for sure. Oh yeah, Shan,
Speaker 1: what you got. I know you involved. Know both of
Speaker 1: you and Tire are involved some things. Talk to me
Speaker 1: all over anything that comes our way, any opportunity that
Speaker 1: comes our way we're taking part in. Whether it's a
Speaker 1: friends um fundraiser or reading to it's just anything that
Speaker 1: we can get into, we do. We probably spread ourselves
Speaker 1: tooth in. Um we are in the process. I know.
Speaker 1: They just called me today. Tiger has a recreational center
Speaker 1: in North New Jersey that was named after him because
Speaker 1: we do so much with them. They actually that's his
Speaker 1: building now because he does so much for his city. Um.
Speaker 1: He literally says that he wears his city on his
Speaker 1: bag and he does everything he does he does for
Speaker 1: our home like you know for Jersey, for Nork, he
Speaker 1: does for Nork. So Um, we always say Jersey raised us.
Speaker 1: So we're big on home. Um. But um everything they
Speaker 1: just called us today about doing it. Yeah. Last year
Speaker 1: we did a Turkey Um. We we put on I
Speaker 1: think for like four or five dred people. We through
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving dinner and we're doing it again this year. Of course,
Speaker 1: we had to do it in a different way UM
Speaker 1: this year because of COVID. UM we gave At one
Speaker 1: point when COVID was really really when the whole country
Speaker 1: was shut down, we UM fed UH UM Home and
Speaker 1: Shelter for Children. UM. We fed them for a week
Speaker 1: because they said that they had relied so heavily on
Speaker 1: the schools to feed the kids. This was when no
Speaker 1: one had figured anything figured out. Now everything is a
Speaker 1: little bit better, but they relied heavily on breakfast and
Speaker 1: lunch being given at school, and they fed the kids dinner.
Speaker 1: We decided to step in and say hey, because they
Speaker 1: were it was a food shortage. UM. It was just
Speaker 1: a lot of different things that we did. COVID has
Speaker 1: really made it hard to do a lot of things.
Speaker 1: We put on a carnival and a football camp, and
Speaker 1: then here does a segment where he brings in police officers,
Speaker 1: he brings in UM lawyers, he brings in UM public
Speaker 1: health administered, he brings in a lot of different people
Speaker 1: UM financial people to teach the kids financial literacy. He
Speaker 1: does this whole big convention weekend. We were unable to
Speaker 1: do that this weekend this year because of COVID, So
Speaker 1: we do so many different things, but COVID has really
Speaker 1: just been in the way. So we're trying our best
Speaker 1: to stay involved. But right now he can't go anywhere,
Speaker 1: he can't do anything. Uh So we're trying. We're trying,
Speaker 1: but we we definitely, UM, we get involved in anything
Speaker 1: we can do. I know Christmas is coming and that's
Speaker 1: really gonna be crappy because, um, we do a lot
Speaker 1: during Christmas. We take kids. Last year, I think we
Speaker 1: took three two hundred something kids shopping, um, and then
Speaker 1: just for toys. This year, I actually, UM, my plan
Speaker 1: is to give money to single mothers. UM. We are
Speaker 1: trying to coordinate that now because I believe that as
Speaker 1: a mom, one of the hardest things I couldn't imagine
Speaker 1: not being able to provide for my kids on Christmas.
Speaker 1: It's one thing when the kids know that it's being
Speaker 1: given to some big in their eyes, big rich NFL player,
Speaker 1: that's cool. But to wake up on Christmas and feel
Speaker 1: like your mom and your dad or Santa whoever. I
Speaker 1: don't I don't know, but you don't have anything on
Speaker 1: Christmas Day that you think gifts from santor you think
Speaker 1: it's from your parents. As hard as a mother UM,
Speaker 1: I couldn't imagine because Christmas morning, when the kids wake up, UM,
Speaker 1: it's everything. So I wanted to instead of giving we
Speaker 1: could still do the kids, but instead I wanted to
Speaker 1: give single moms or single parents, because it's not just
Speaker 1: single moms out here. There are some single dads that
Speaker 1: are really doing it. UM. I wanted to give them
Speaker 1: the opportunity to go and buy gifts for their children
Speaker 1: so that they could then give it to their kids
Speaker 1: like it's from them, and it is from them. UM.
Speaker 1: That's what I wanted to do this year. I wanted
Speaker 1: to work with single parents that are struggling. UM. So
Speaker 1: we're still trying to find a way to do that, UM.
Speaker 1: And so really any which way we can, we're just
Speaker 1: trying to get involved. As if you got anything, send
Speaker 1: it my way. And seriously, UM, we're just trying to
Speaker 1: do everything we do every We really do too much, probably,
Speaker 1: but we're trying to trying to get it in find
Speaker 1: folksing back to the your voices and and I think
Speaker 1: it would be important for legends to hear this UM
Speaker 1: from you guys obviously, UM, can we talk about how
Speaker 1: your husbands are sounding boards for your voice to advocates
Speaker 1: for you, champions for you. Can we talk about that
Speaker 1: a little bit, Yes, let's let's let's start with you
Speaker 1: in DeAndre. Yeah. So, UM, I don't think that Deonder
Speaker 1: and I would be together if he were looking for
Speaker 1: or expecting me to be an individual that UM didn't
Speaker 1: share or have my own thoughts in my own opinions. Um,
Speaker 1: that was actually one of the things that attracted me
Speaker 1: most of him, like when we kind of started talking
Speaker 1: and eventually started dating. It's just he was such a
Speaker 1: fan of like my development, UM, in my career. He
Speaker 1: was your fan. I saw, I saw how you just
Speaker 1: dropped that in the in the section I saw that
Speaker 1: he was. He was such a fan of I mean
Speaker 1: everything that I have going on and even now, like
Speaker 1: the ideas that come to mind or different boards that
Speaker 1: I joined or whatever. He's a he's a he's a
Speaker 1: great support system and I was able to be that
Speaker 1: for him, you know when he was actively playing and
Speaker 1: now that he's been in this transition, you know, finding
Speaker 1: his his next step and when he has inklings of
Speaker 1: where what that might be or the direction he might go,
Speaker 1: I feel excited because I'm like excited for him to
Speaker 1: figure this this what kind of feels like a puzzle piece,
Speaker 1: UM the next move out. So that's not UM something
Speaker 1: that I've been particularly challenged with with him. But I
Speaker 1: also know that for any variety of reasons, that's not
Speaker 1: the case for for everyone UM. And I think if
Speaker 1: I'm were to part anything on record, just want to
Speaker 1: say that every UM partner who's attached to a player
Speaker 1: is firsthand experiencing this life of football UM off the field,
Speaker 1: and sometimes might even be the experts on what life
Speaker 1: of football off the field is. So their voices for that,
Speaker 1: and because of their own desires, should be listened to
Speaker 1: and should be honored UM for for what it is.
Speaker 1: Senna talk to me about t I know he'd be
Speaker 1: he'd be publing one on my phone right now. See
Speaker 1: when he gets when they get a break. I kindly
Speaker 1: answered the phone. He heard that we were doing something,
Speaker 1: and he ended up sitting a text like I am
Speaker 1: doing me right now and it feels so good UM,
Speaker 1: And he loves it. He pushes for it. UM. Is
Speaker 1: he used to it? No, because now we have to
Speaker 1: balance versus before it was like hey babe, I got this,
Speaker 1: this this, and I was like, wait, hold on, I
Speaker 1: got this, this, this, we gotta figure it out. Um.
Speaker 1: But yeah, sorry, baby, now he's gonna watch this to
Speaker 1: me like, oh that's okay, I get it now. Um,
Speaker 1: I I love doing me. I never imagined in a
Speaker 1: million years that I would be doing the football white thing. Um.
Speaker 1: Tier went to a smaller school. Well it was now
Speaker 1: it's like Temple's bigger, But when he went, it was
Speaker 1: considered a smaller school and it wasn't Clemson, it wasn't
Speaker 1: you know, Alabama. So it was like he just really
Speaker 1: came from a city where he got it out the
Speaker 1: mud and just wanted to kind of be somebody great.
Speaker 1: And he was like, I'll be a state trooper, you know.
Speaker 1: I'm just trying to get a degree and that's what
Speaker 1: I'm told I gotta do, and I'm trying to make
Speaker 1: it out. And then this NFL thing came along. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker 1: I had my own dreams, I had my own um ambition.
Speaker 1: So now I'm finally getting to it. After taking a
Speaker 1: break from what I wanted to do for the longest
Speaker 1: to kind of adjust and get him where he needed
Speaker 1: to be or support him in getting where he needed
Speaker 1: to be. I'm doing me now, So it feels great. UM.
Speaker 1: I know a lot of women we struggle for a
Speaker 1: while in the NFL finding ourselves and finding our voice. UM.
Speaker 1: And some men don't know how to support Um they're women.
Speaker 1: They don't know how. They don't know how. It may
Speaker 1: not be that they just simply don't want to. They
Speaker 1: don't know how. UM. And then it's hard. It's just
Speaker 1: hard being a homemaker and loving our kids the way
Speaker 1: we're supposed to or the way it's said that we're
Speaker 1: supposed to. UM. It just can create so much different thing,
Speaker 1: so many different things. But it's important to take time
Speaker 1: out to focus on yourself, to do something for yourself,
Speaker 1: and to not lose yourself in the midst of him.
Speaker 1: I'm his partner, he's my partner. Um, he's my biggest fan,
Speaker 1: just like I'm his biggest fan. UM. And I think again,
Speaker 1: it just falls back on if I'm not good, no
Speaker 1: one else's and my dreams. Really, growing up, when I
Speaker 1: was a little girl, I never said I wanted to
Speaker 1: be a football life. That was never a thing. That
Speaker 1: was never who I wanted to be. So I had
Speaker 1: to remember that and say, hey, Shannon is somebody and
Speaker 1: Shannon needs to. I want my kids to look back
Speaker 1: and say, Wow, my mom did her thing too. UM.
Speaker 1: You know it's important. But he is, He's right on that,
Speaker 1: He's right with that, and I don't. I think he
Speaker 1: enjoys having a strong life. UM. He loves bragging about
Speaker 1: his wife just as like, just as well as I
Speaker 1: like ragging about him. So it's a it's a it's
Speaker 1: a partnership. It's a partnership. I definitely like he'll he'll
Speaker 1: he'll do the autographs and do the waves, but I'm
Speaker 1: the one behind the scenes making it all happen. And
Speaker 1: he knows that it wouldn't be good without me, and
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be good without him. So we're partners. I
Speaker 1: love that. I love that one thing that UM, I
Speaker 1: just want to like add to talking from like the
Speaker 1: other side of the game. So on the retirement side
Speaker 1: of things, UM, something that's really important. Uh. I know
Speaker 1: that like in the Legends community, this is really communicated
Speaker 1: to players, but like thinking about your next step, figuring
Speaker 1: out the ways that you can from your seat as
Speaker 1: a player, UM, take advantage of all the resources at
Speaker 1: the NFL offers for that. On the other side, that
Speaker 1: goes to me, that's very true for UM the partners
Speaker 1: and wives of players as well, because if on the
Speaker 1: other side of the game, you know, for example, DeAndre
Speaker 1: is figuring out his next step, if I were also
Speaker 1: just now for the first time thinking through what's next
Speaker 1: for me, on top of him thinking about what's next
Speaker 1: for him, it could create uh a lot of challenges
Speaker 1: uh in our home. And I think me having some
Speaker 1: of my own interests and my career kind of going
Speaker 1: and developed, UM, it created a degree of stability so
Speaker 1: that once he transitioned, you know, he had that space
Speaker 1: and has a space to focus, but I had my
Speaker 1: mind occupied elsewhere because I have things going on for myself. UM.
Speaker 1: And I think that when when he was playing, that
Speaker 1: there were opportunities that I wish that if I had
Speaker 1: thought more about it, UM, Like for example, I went
Speaker 1: to business academy. I wish that I would have taken
Speaker 1: advantage of that while he was playing, UM, just to
Speaker 1: see if there were different things that we could have
Speaker 1: done while he was still an active player, because your platform,
Speaker 1: you still have a platform, you know, after retirement, but
Speaker 1: it's not always the same UM as when you're an
Speaker 1: active player. So just like thinking hard about what are
Speaker 1: things that would benefit me and benefit my family right
Speaker 1: now that we should be and could be seizing being
Speaker 1: a part of this NFL family and for all the
Speaker 1: legends that are listening to this key word partnership. Okay, partnership.
Speaker 1: And these two lovely ladies are unbelievable partners to their
Speaker 1: NFL player husbands. But at the same time they understand
Speaker 1: that it's it's a two way street. They can't do
Speaker 1: none without them, and you know, we can't do none
Speaker 1: without y'all. That's just how it is. So um, I
Speaker 1: want that to be known to everybody as we wand down. Ladies,
Speaker 1: this has been awesome. I want to know what's next
Speaker 1: for both of y'all individually as a family, what you
Speaker 1: got going on? Basically, what I want to say is
Speaker 1: I don't want to miss nothing in this podcast. I
Speaker 1: don't want nothing to slip through the cracks. You know
Speaker 1: that I miss anything. Let's can we choose estable slightly
Speaker 1: back onto the social the social injustice part. We already
Speaker 1: we were already in there. We want to go ahead, dad,
Speaker 1: but let's do it. Want to do it now? Um,
Speaker 1: I don't know who is going to be watching this
Speaker 1: whether it's player, whether it's retired player, whether it's don't
Speaker 1: stop using your voice. Um, I just I'm tired of
Speaker 1: that narrative. I'm trying to change it, even if it's
Speaker 1: just me by myself. Every time I get a chance
Speaker 1: to have the conversation, I'm having it. I'm not backing
Speaker 1: away from it. Um, keep using your voice because even
Speaker 1: if it's negative feedback, it's feedback that means it's being
Speaker 1: talked about and the only way it gets the attention
Speaker 1: that it deserves is the conversation. Um. And I just
Speaker 1: I'm tired of seeing we love the fans. I mean,
Speaker 1: we're nothing without fans. But at the same time, these
Speaker 1: players are not just players, They're not just athletes. They
Speaker 1: have families. I have four black sons. Let's have the
Speaker 1: conversation because when you take off that uniform, they are
Speaker 1: exactly who they were born. Um. They are black males
Speaker 1: majority of them. So it's it's it's it's one of
Speaker 1: those things that it has to be talked about. I
Speaker 1: just want people to stop the whole narrative of shut
Speaker 1: up in play. That has to stop. It has it
Speaker 1: bothers me to my core because um, it's just it's
Speaker 1: not a political issue, has nothing to do with it's
Speaker 1: politics because the laws need to be changed and be
Speaker 1: made to benefit all. Um. And that's just a whole
Speaker 1: different conversation. But I know that was one of the
Speaker 1: topics that we decided to discuss. And I don't want
Speaker 1: to let down I don't want to let up one
Speaker 1: that or that we have the conversation. Um. And if
Speaker 1: you are someone who understands what's going on, it is
Speaker 1: your job to educate others. So um, yeah, I just
Speaker 1: had to say that, I'm sorry, you made a huge point. Uh,
Speaker 1: this ain't politics politics, this is this is human decency.
Speaker 1: This is respect for your fellow man. This is respect
Speaker 1: for people. You know what I'm saying, especially are black men.
Speaker 1: And it's real, this whole it doesn't exist thing, it exists.
Speaker 1: I grew up in an area where I had to
Speaker 1: deal with it. I've seen it firsthand. I've heard about
Speaker 1: it from family members. I've just we it. Just it's real.
Speaker 1: It's real. And the minute we start accepting that it's
Speaker 1: real and start truly putting ourselves. I don't care what
Speaker 1: color your skin is, you put yourself in a certain
Speaker 1: predicament and imagine it being you or one of your children,
Speaker 1: and you're gonna feel really differently. Um, it's real, it's real.
Speaker 1: So I just had to say that it's it's real.
Speaker 1: It's real. It is real. You can you can't watch
Speaker 1: what happened to George Floyd having some officers on his
Speaker 1: neck for eight minutes and forty some seconds and not
Speaker 1: feel something and know that there's not a problem going
Speaker 1: on in America. You can and then to see other
Speaker 1: videos just like the George Foyd video, where there are
Speaker 1: other um people that aren't black males that get stopped
Speaker 1: for something else just worse ten times worse than what
Speaker 1: George Floyd was stopped for, and they're fine and they're
Speaker 1: taking into custody. And I know, I saw one video
Speaker 1: where a kid, a grown man, hopped out of a
Speaker 1: car and beat up to police officers, hopped in the car,
Speaker 1: installed the police car, not his car, hopped in the
Speaker 1: police car. You know, I know, you know, Betty, I'm
Speaker 1: talking about Dad's I wish I knew the kid's name,
Speaker 1: but he stole the police car. And I said, oh wow.
Speaker 1: And I had that been anyone else that was of
Speaker 1: a different skin complexion, they would have been killed and
Speaker 1: that's just the truth. And I'm tired of sugarcoating the situations.
Speaker 1: It's gotta stop. I just don't I don't understand it.
Speaker 1: There's I know you had to staying on this because
Speaker 1: we talk about it. Um. Yeah. I think one thing
Speaker 1: that I read that really put this in great context
Speaker 1: is the racial injustice in the United States is not
Speaker 1: going to change until people who are not experiencing it
Speaker 1: don't view it as something that they just need to
Speaker 1: sympathize and empathize with and see it as their problem
Speaker 1: to fix as well. So, you know, if black men
Speaker 1: continue to be gunned down, um, black women gunned down
Speaker 1: and not even talked about, um, because the focus is
Speaker 1: always on the man. But black people gunned down, we're
Speaker 1: now seeing it on video and all the ways that
Speaker 1: we have the ability to capture, like from our pocket.
Speaker 1: But this is a storied history. So the engagement in
Speaker 1: the the will to you know, be on the in
Speaker 1: the posture of like doing something about it. It has
Speaker 1: to be beyond you know, the next time something goes viral,
Speaker 1: because then we're just waiting until the next thing when
Speaker 1: we need to be doing everything that we can and
Speaker 1: from changing hearts and minds to change the laws and policies,
Speaker 1: like Shannon said, for things to change into and to
Speaker 1: get better. Yeah, and and and I see so many
Speaker 1: comments to bring it back to the player in the
Speaker 1: NFL aspect, I see so many comments under these guys
Speaker 1: when they when they whether it's kneeling, whether it's wearing
Speaker 1: a name on their helmet, whether it's just speaking up.
Speaker 1: I see so many comments. And social media as a tool,
Speaker 1: I see so many comments saying things like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: you're so oppressed, you're you're paid millions. I don't remember
Speaker 1: the last time money had anything to do with being black.
Speaker 1: I don't remember the last time that money had anything.
Speaker 1: First of all, let me tell you something humble beginnings.
Speaker 1: We didn't always have money. And before we had money,
Speaker 1: we were back and and when we didn't have money,
Speaker 1: and when we were black, we were definitely in a
Speaker 1: place of being of oppression. And we definitely came up
Speaker 1: in an area where we didn't have much and we
Speaker 1: saw things for what they were and didn't have adequate schooling,
Speaker 1: and we didn't have education on on different laws and
Speaker 1: and how things were, and we had no idea anything
Speaker 1: we we we did not always have money. So now,
Speaker 1: as players with a platform and maybe a little bit
Speaker 1: of money, it is our job to pull everybody else up.
Speaker 1: So I don't want to hear the shut up and play.
Speaker 1: I'm tired of it. If I sound passionate about it,
Speaker 1: it's because I am. It's because before my husband was
Speaker 1: an NFL player, he was a black mail growing up
Speaker 1: in an area that is not serviced the way other
Speaker 1: areas are. And at the end of the day, he
Speaker 1: it is his duty too to remember, reflect and bring
Speaker 1: about change. It is not his duty to get some money,
Speaker 1: get a platform and change and and and and not
Speaker 1: not bring about change, or not try and be somebody
Speaker 1: better and be a better example, or try and educate.
Speaker 1: It's it's it's his job. It's his duty to speak
Speaker 1: up and and and remember his people. Because I don't
Speaker 1: vote based on who i'm and I'm sorry may be
Speaker 1: people do. I don't vote based on who I am now.
Speaker 1: I vote on my people, for my people, the people
Speaker 1: that need it, and I vote as a person that
Speaker 1: loves people, not just what is gonna benefit me. I
Speaker 1: think we're selfish in a lot of ways. Um, and
Speaker 1: I'm always remember who I am, where I came from.
Speaker 1: And that's just me. I don't know about y'all, but
Speaker 1: absolutely I ain't even always had it. So yeah, there,
Speaker 1: you got anything more you want to add? Yeah, just
Speaker 1: I think the most important thing, uh, to also add
Speaker 1: to this. I think I heard you and Shannon say,
Speaker 1: you know the importance of educating other people so they
Speaker 1: can understand. But another really important and maybe more important
Speaker 1: to me, part of that is people educating themselves and listening.
Speaker 1: I've seen so many, in too many comments from people
Speaker 1: who don't have the lived experience of you know, being
Speaker 1: in fear of police or experiencing casual, everyday racism, saying
Speaker 1: things like they've never they don't think it exists, or
Speaker 1: they don't anything of that. Ilk if it's not your
Speaker 1: lived experience, then just take the time, step back, maybe
Speaker 1: even be quiet, and listen and learn so that you're
Speaker 1: speaking from an educated perspective. Because while you're lived experience,
Speaker 1: you know you're an expert on that, that doesn't mean
Speaker 1: you're an expert on what everyone else's experience. And we
Speaker 1: all live in extolling lives in life in different ways.
Speaker 1: Everybody is an expert in their own frame of reference.
Speaker 1: When they feel like they have access to the results.
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. So if you're gonna spend
Speaker 1: those results to your own worldview but not take into
Speaker 1: account the other person or the other race, you got
Speaker 1: problems and you need to wake up. That's just real facts,
Speaker 1: that's just raw. That's where we need to be heading
Speaker 1: as a country. There. As you said this before, change
Speaker 1: is gonna take a while, but we need more people
Speaker 1: with both of your mind sense to make sure that
Speaker 1: that change is effectively realized. We do, And I just
Speaker 1: want to add one more thing, um like, as a
Speaker 1: note of encouragement. Something else I've heard and really sit
Speaker 1: with me is when you don't know and when you're
Speaker 1: learning something new, welcome yourself to suspend your first judgment
Speaker 1: about what you think is happening. Just really humble yourself
Speaker 1: to be in the posture to learn. Um just just learn.
Speaker 1: Because I think that when we're in close proximity to
Speaker 1: each other and like you know, we're having a conversation
Speaker 1: right now, it provides an opportunity for people to be connected.
Speaker 1: I think that when there's a lot of distance and
Speaker 1: it makes it easier for people to be mean and
Speaker 1: disrespectful to each other. But if we just really like
Speaker 1: I guess, like think about intimacy as in closeness as
Speaker 1: a bomb um. It's an opportunity for people to connect
Speaker 1: and really just like learn from each other and hopefully
Speaker 1: broaden you're a world view so that you're not making
Speaker 1: an or comments or just doing stuff for the sake
Speaker 1: of publicity when like think actions can be genuine and
Speaker 1: authentic because you're learning and getting your perspective um informed.
Speaker 1: I love that for change to come about that way,
Speaker 1: you also have to be an active agent for reconciliation.
Speaker 1: You have to see things that it's core from both
Speaker 1: sides and then come to baseline and then make that
Speaker 1: change of reality. That's perfect as I love that. That's perfect.
Speaker 1: Oh man, I think, man, I could be talking to
Speaker 1: y'all all day. You notice, you know I could. I
Speaker 1: just want to thank you all for breaking bread with me,
Speaker 1: being active agents for change and being the champions that
Speaker 1: govern the households of both current players and legends alike. So,
Speaker 1: in the words of our NFL Legends podcasts main host
Speaker 1: Aenius Williams, the best is yet to come. I love
Speaker 1: your family, Thank you, thank you for having this has
Speaker 1: been the NFL Legends podcast. To provide feedback or request
Speaker 1: a topic for discussion, email us at NFL Legends at
Speaker 1: nfl dot com.