Not all professional football players age or exit gracefully. It runs completely contrary to their warrior mentality and need/desire to be on the field of play at all times. Especially when you are a born and gifted leader. The transformation of Cowboys' ILB Keith Brooking is something to behold and admire with genuine affection and true respect. Keith Brooking knows his playing days in his beloved NFL are slowly winding down. This cagy, wildy-successful and dedicated tackling machine has been at it a long time. By NFL standards, a very long time. Acceptance isn't something that comes easy for most professional athletes, especially NFL players. Going out is never easy, and rarely do players get to do it on their own terms.
Keith Brooking is simply a class act, through and through. He knows his playing days are numbered and in clear view, yet he is still willing to contribute any time he is called upon, and his most incredible and admirable quality at this juncture is tutelage. 
Keith Brooking has been a master of his craft for 14 straight professional years. He reigned supreme for the majority of his career in Atlanta, toiling not too far from where he played college ball at Georgia Tech. He knew he was brought to Dallas for knowledge of the Wade Phillips defensive system and to bide time as younger players developed and morphed into playing time. The Sean Lee era has arrived, and Keith Brooking has accepted and welcomed it gracefully and professionally. The admiration and respect Sean Lee has for Keith Brooking is simply immense. Brooking will do more to assist Sean Lee's transition then can ever be witnessed, documented or captured on film. The Teacher is proud of the student. The Teacher sees the student in him. He knows what it's like to break into the line-up and never look back. How can he begrudge someone the opportunity he once grasped and ran with himself?
The consummate professional knows it's about giving back, on and off the field. Make no mistake about it, Keith Brooking is a football player, through and through, but he's also a gift to society, and he gives back at every juncture. In the high-priced, glamor world known as the NFL, Keith Brooking has always gone about his business the right way. He works hard, he leads by example, he emulates "team" guy, and he motivates others. He's fiery, he's competitive, loves to win, and he leaves it all on the field of play. Some guys just do it the right way. He's the picture that appears when someone turns to the Webster's terminology "epitome."
Every year a group of "young bucks" make their way to NFL rosters on all 32 teams, and each of them hopes to live out and fulfill a dream. Keith Brooking had that dream, and so did/does Sean Lee. Sean Lee runs a little faster, covers a little more ground and maybe, just maybe, hits with a little more pop, but Brooking has the skins and knowledge. Both of which he so unselfishly will share with and bestow upon Sean Lee. The second year man can log as much playing time as he wants and receives, but while game day experience is invaluable, nothing compares to the insights and guidance provided by one who has traipsed the landscape religiously for 14 rock-solid years. It's never easy for a player to say good-bye to the game he so loves and has provided for him in many ways, and it's equally difficult to watch "class acts" depart the game.
No one is writing Keith Brooking off. He is a very active and valuable member of the Dallas Cowboys' roster, but all know that time is fleeting. The Cowboys have ushered in their future star, and they are lucky to have the true star providing guidance and support. Keith Brooking exemplifies everything that's right about the game of professional football. He's done it the right way for a long time, and he deserves every accolade the organization and fan base can muster up and graciously send his way. It's been a heck of a ride, and one can only hope Keith Brooking goes out with a ring and a title. That would be the icing on an already-perfect career.
