The first time Charlotte 49ers defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi stepped onto a football field, some fans in the metal high school bleachers laughed at him. And the second time. And the third.
He was halfway through his teens and morbidly obese. He could not run properly because of his size – instead, his parents say, he moved with a heavy, shuffling gallop. His uniform barely stretched to fit.
The high school parents and kids began to snicker as they watched him take the field.
His father, Larry Sr., was mortified. What a painful thing, to hear the laughter directed at his son.