INDIANAPOLIS — Darius Leonard remembers the first slight, the first time somebody hit him with a criticism that stuck in his mind.
Back then, in his own words, he was a runt, a junior varsity football player trying to live up to the legend of his older brother, Anthony Waters.
“He can probably play offense,” Leonard remembers them saying. “But he’ll never be as good as his brother defensively.”
The next slight happened on the baseball field.
Leonard admits he wasn’t the best baseball player, but he was determined to get better, putting in extra work after practice.