The streets of Opa-Locka, Florida were saturated with drugs. Gunshots were a nightly occurrence. Violent crime was a given.
To a teenage Armando Allen Jr., this was his sense of normal.
“Inside of my home wasn’t the issue,” recalled Allen in a phone interview Tuesday. “I look at my mom like she’s Superwoman. But outside of those doors, you’re talking about a place where you literally want to be inside the house before it gets dark because you never know what’s going to happen outside.”
The former Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back takes great pride in his ability to focus on what’s truly important.