New York Giants

Rashad Jennings: The Man Behind the Helmet

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Rashad Jennings is vital to the New York Giants running game, but he’s interested in much more than his yards per carry on the field.

New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings would love a Super Bowl ring. More than that, though, he wants to leave a legacy and make an impact on society.

Monday night, Jennings was front-and-center at the second annual Giant Night of Comedy, a comedy show held to raise funds and awareness for the Rashad Jennings Foundation. The foundation works to “inspire youth by making education fun, to provide mentorship for individual success, and to promote health and fitness worldwide.”

Perhaps the impact of the foundation and its mission can best be described by Jennings himself.

“If I am only remembered as Rashad Jennings, the running back, then I have failed,” Jennings said.

Jennings is well on his way to accomplishing just that. Events like the one on Monday and the foundation itself go a long, long way in helping him to do that.

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“What I hope to accomplish is to bring men and women to understand that every person in this building is privileged in some way, shape or form,” Jennings said. “And we all have the ability to influence and you know, I really, really, really take my opportunity and understand that there’s nothing special about me. I’m just in a special position and anytime I get to unmask myself and be a magnifying glass towards things I think are important, I wanna do that.”

So often, though, foundations and causes similar to Jennings have visions of grandeur for their plight. They hope to accomplish something near unattainable. Jennings’ goal with his foundation is far more grounded than many.

“I’m given the opportunity [to help] and wanted to partner with men and women that have the same vision as I do: to help kids read, help kids and mentor them, and also have the ability to help them health and fitness wise,” Jennings said. “You know, sometimes we look so much at the overarching issue that we skip over the fundamentals. That’s I think a big part of our society that we’re missing and that’s what I want to bring back to it.”

Rashad Jennings

Credit: Nafisa Hussein

It took a lot of hard work and dedication for Rashad Jennings to make it to the NFL. He overcame asthma, obesity, and a reading comprehension-deficit to accomplish his dream. What motivated him to focus and get over the hurdles? A simple challenge from a poignant moment with his dad.

“The relationship with my father. I grew up, he used to drink a lot, smoke a lot and I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to be like that,” Jennings said.

“And I remember asking him one time, in the bedroom, he was drinking. And I said, ‘Hey dad, could you stop drinking and smoking and be there for me?’ And he took another sip of his drink and said, ‘Rashad, when you grow up, what do you want to do?’

“That overweight,chubby kid that couldn’t read, 0.6 GPA, average fifth-string running back, I told him—I said, ‘I want to play running back in the NFL,'” Jennings said. “He took another sip of his drink and he said, ‘Rashad, do you think you’d ever be able to make it to the NFL without ever drinking or smoking yourself?’ I’m 31, I’ve never drank or smoked a day in my life. So I appreciate that challenge from my father because I wanted to prove him wrong.”

Jennings’ motivation from his dad has also befitted the latter, as well. “Because of doing that, he’s quit smoking and drinking himself,” Jennings said.

But that all comes back to the purpose and goal of the Rashad Jennings Foundation. That experience and what it led to for the running back is a universal truth in his mind. Thus, he believes in challenging the youth in society so that they have something to strive toward.

“You’ll be surprised at what you can do when you challenge somebody and I want to bring a reading challenge to these kids,” Jennings said.

Thus, part of the foundation involves a reading challenge. The purpose of the challenge is to get children excited about reading. Over the course of a month, students will read as many books as they can and then have the opportunity to win prizes if they score an 80 percent or better on their tests. This challenge is fun and can very well help these children achieve their life-long goals as research has shown a link between reading and academic failure and violence.

And for all of you wondering about his hand, it looked good at the event. But can we expect him to play Monday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings?

“It’s good.It’s good. It’s the cost of playing football type of injury. We’re all good,” Jennings said. “I’m [going to] do everything I possibly could, just like I tried to get ready for it last game and do the same for this game.”

Hopefully Jennings can return to the field Monday night and continue to make an impact on and off the field.

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