Wilson from Gamehendge Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Whitner's latest Tweet: @Profootballtalk yall suck....my followers are here to stay.....chumps! What a standup guy. LOL Get off the dude's case. He is a human, like Michael Vick...like all of us. NOBODY guessed the scores of the game, therefore nobody gets the tickets. How is he supposed to decide between the people who were "close?" He is quite the fine young man, if you ask me, coming from where he came from and all...I would be pissed off and tell somebody they "sucked" on twitter too, when they were putting out hate articles on the internet. Florio IS a d-bag anyways. Whitner is a good guy...probably does more for charity than half of us, put together... http://bleacherreport.com/articles/158537-...is-a-role-model Donte Whitner was not arrested for a hit and run, gun possession, drug possession, vehicular manslaughter, or even drunk driving. Yet he is still grouped with the players in the NFL who are arrested for these more serious violations. The favorite new statistic by news media outlets is an arrest count for the NFL. Some prominent NFL websites, such as www.profootballtalk.com, even have a count that measures how many days the NFL has gone without an arrest. (FLORIO=D-BAG!) The media will never show the upside of a player, only the downside, because that is what gets them ratings. A player's character should not be judged by what mistake he has made but rather by what he has done in his role as an athlete to improve the lives of others. Donte Whitner is the perfect example of an athlete with strong moral fiber of which can be role-modeled. Donte has not had an easy life by any means. He was born and raised on the east side of Cleveland in a much less fortunate area than what many of us were raised in. At the age of four, Donte was nearly killed after being hit by a car while crossing the road. As a result, he spent four months in a body cast and was even told by doctors that he may never walk again because of the extensive injuries to his legs. As if that were not enough to overcome, at the age of 12, Donte's father was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. This left Donte to be raised by a single mother, and he needed to grow up much faster than those his age. As hard as life was, Whitner just used his hardship as motivation. Donte went on to graduate early from high school and was accepted into Ohio State University. At Ohio State, Donte excelled both on and off the field and decided to enter the NFL draft as a junior. He would be drafted eighth overall by the Buffalo Bills in a move that was labeled by many as a stretch; once again, this was just more motivation to Donte. Whitner has gone on to become a defensive leader on the field and in the locker room. He has been a starter for the Bills since being drafted and has lived up to the role given to him by his first round selection. But this is not what truly shows Donte's character. Donte has used his role as a professional athlete to start his own charitable foundation, Team 20. The mission statement of Team 20 states, "Our mission at Team 20 is to enrich and encourage families in impoverished communities by using education as a tool to raise awareness." It is through this foundation that Donte Whitner has made a name for himself in the Buffalo and Cleveland areas. Here are some of the notable events held or participated in by the Team 20 foundation. * Annual Cancer Strike Charity Bowling Tournament * Annual Youth Football Mini-Camp * Donating School Supplies to schools in Buffalo, Cleveland, and Ghana, West Africa * Retreats for single Mothers/Fathers * Stop the Violence Tour * Camp Team 20 * Read to Achieve * Impact Plays * Impact Families * Thanksgiving Turkey Give-A-Way seen here * Partnership with the United Way seen here A role model to me is any person in a position where they can affect others by their actions. I would definitely consider Donte's actions worthy of repetition by children or fans in general Whitner is a leader and will make a good combo with Byrd, in our defensive scheme. They will be allowed to roam their sides of the field and make plays on the ball. Whitner will improve and surprise with the help of our new defense. I like him and want him in this team. We invested too much in him. He deserves a chance with this new regime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 who cares. Florio's a tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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