Too often we view athletes through one lens and one lens only: as athletes. With a full plate of armor and a helmet obscuring the faces, it’s hard to see the individual behind the facemask. Instead, they’re just pawns in the game we love so dearly.
And when we do recognize them as individuals, we tend to focus and exaggerate on the bad. Criminal histories, wonderlic tests, too-honest quotes all grab the headlines, while the charity work and goodwill often go unnoticed.
So today, on Father’s Day, let’s pull back the veil of the helmet and celebrate some of the Detroit Lions, not as players, but as dads.