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NFL players will wear a uniform patch this season to honor deceased NFL Players Association leader Gene Upshaw who passed away on August 20 at the age of 63. The league announced today that the patch (which will be worn on the left chest of each jersey) will have the initials GU and the number 63, which Gene wore while playing for the Oakland Raiders. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released the following statement:

“Gene was a truly unique, one-of-a-kind contributor to the NFL. No one in our game has ever combined Gene’s level of achievement both as a Hall of Fame player and as an executive leader. No one did more for NFL players than Gene Upshaw. He deserves our everlasting respect and thanks.”

This Thursday night, Gene will be honored as his wife Terri and his three sons — Eugene, Jr., Daniel and Justin — participate in the coin toss prior to the kickoff of the NFL season at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey when the Washington Redskins play the New York Giants.

I think this is a great move by the league and it’s very fitting that every team (not just the Raiders) will be wearing the patch. Gene served 25 years as the executive director of the union and his leadership helped the NFL and its players attain unprecedented success.

Source: ESPN.com

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NFL Players to Wear Uniform Patch This Season in Honor of Gene Upshaw

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As part of the festivities surrounding the 2008 NFL PLAYERS Gala featuring the JB (James Brown) Awards in Washington D.C., players from around the National Football League joined local Special Olympics athletes for a football clinic yesterday morning. The clinic featured more than 75 local Special Olympics athletes participating alongside NFL player-honorees in five friendly, non-contact football stations. The players interacted with the athletes and helped demonstrate a variety of offensive and defensive skills, including passing, receiving, and kicking. At the conclusion of the clinic, athletes took part in a group photo session with the NFL players.

The 2008 JB Award recipients that participated in the clinic were Amobi Okoye (Houston Texans), Marques Douglas (San Francisco 49ers), Chris Draft (St. Louis Rams), Warrick Dunn (Tampa Bay Bucs), Braylon Edwards (Cleveland Browns), Israel Idonije (Chicago Bears), Kassim Osgood (San Diego Chargers), Mack Strong (formerly of the Seattle Seahawks), James Thrash (Washington Redskins), and Brian Waters (Kansas City Chiefs).

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NFL Players Join Local Special Olympics Washington D.C. Athletes For Football Clinic

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn was presented with the 42nd annual Byron “Whizzer” White Award, the NFL Players Association’s (NFLPA) highest honor, yesterday at the NFL PLAYERS Gala featuring the JB Awards in Washington, D.C. Warrick was one of several NFL players honored by James Brown, host of “THE NFL TODAY” on CBS, along with “THE NFL TODAY” analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher.

The event, which recognized NFL players for their individual contributions to their communities, raised nearly $1 million, the net proceeds of which benefit Special Olympics D.C. It was the fifth consecutive year the NFLPA and NFL PLAYERS partnered with James Brown to honor some of the NFL’s biggest heroes.

Warrick was selected from among 12 JB Award winners as a result of his commitment to the nationally-renowned community project Homes for the Holidays, an annual program he created to help low-income families buy homes in Atlanta, Tampa, Baton Rouge and Tallahassee. As the primary focus of the Warrick Dunn Foundation, the program provides down payments on homes and works with area sponsors to furnish them. Motivated by the memory of his mother, Betty Smothers, Warrick launched the program during his rookie season in 1997 and has since enabled 74 single parents and 192 children realize their lifelong dreams of home ownership.

Warrick was selected by an independent celebrity panel of judges which included NEA Foundation President and CEO Harriet Sanford, Gatorade’s Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban and Rick “Doc” Walker, host of SportsTalk 980’s “The Doc Walker Show” and Comcast SportsNet’s “Doc Walker’s ProView.” The “Whizzer” White Award is presented annually to the player who serves his team, community and country in the spirit of Byron Raymond “Whizzer” White. The late Supreme Court Justice was a scholar, athlete, patriot, humanitarian and public servant – the personification of the ideal to which professional football players aspire.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Tampa Bay Bucs’ Warrick Dunn Given Top Honors at 2008 NFL Players Gala, JB Awards