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Rookies Learn Valuable Lessons
posted 06/30/00
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| Packers rookie DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila says he learned a lot at the NFL Rookie Orientation. |
All 13 Packers draft picks spent the week of June 26 in Carlsbad, Calif., for the annual NFL Rookie Orientation.
They were among 254 rookies from across the league that participated in four days of sessions, which covered aspects from money and women to life after football. Participation is mandatory for all draft picks, and fines are levied for being absent or tardy.
The symposium is intended to call attention to challenges that come along with new-found fame and fortune. Now in its fourth year under the same format, the league attempts to make the players aware of the stumbling blocks that all too often lead to major off-the-field distractions.
Gill Byrd, Packers executive director of player programs and community affairs, hopes the message is not lost on the rookies.
"If the players go into this with a willingness to take something from it," said Byrd, "it can have a tremendous impact. There was nothing like this when I was playing unless you had a veteran player who cared enough to mentor a rookie. Sherman Smith (San Diego teammate and current Titans running back coach) was that for me. He taught me how to act like a professional, how to respond to situations and how to treat my wife. That's what we're trying to do with these guys."
The lessons hit home for fifth-round pick Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila.
"I thought going in that it wouldn't be as interesting for me, because I've always been able to stay out of trouble," said Gbaja-Biamila. "I came away from it learning more than I ever thought I would. They talked about everything - money, family pressure, peer pressure, women - they covered it all."
The league's presentation on HIV and the AIDS virus stood out most of all to him.
"When they got women up on the stage that said they had HIV, I was shocked. We were told two-thirds of people with HIV don't even know they have it. They really made us think about the choices we have."
Several guest speakers addressed the young audience during the week, including football legends Ronnie Lott and Marcus Allen, who questioned if the rookies had the desire to make the sacrifices to become great players.
But by far, the speaker with the most influence turned out to be Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, a surprise speaker specially requested by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Lewis, who was charged with murder following two post-Super Bowl stabbing deaths outside an Atlanta nightclub, spoke openly and candidly to the captive audience about his recent ordeals. Although the murder charges were dropped and a misdemeanor count of lying to police is all that remains on his record, he offered strong advice regarding the company the players should keep.
"I had problems saying 'No' to friends," Lewis was quoted as saying. "We have to pick and choose the things we do. We're being watched 24 hours a day. Be firm and stand on your own two feet. Understand that saying no to a lot of people is very important. Be firm when you say no."
Gbaja-Biamila was one of many rookies who approached the microphone during the question-and-answer period with Lewis.
"I asked him what he meant when he kept saying, 'Don't let the situation change you,'" said Gbaja-Biamila. "He told me, 'If those people are really your friends and love you, they won't pressure you into doing something you know is wrong. You have to tell your friends you respect them, but you can't be a part of what they're doing.' It meant a lot to me for him to come and speak like that."
The league intends for the week to be the start of an ongoing dialogue between players and club player program directors. Byrd suggests results may not be immediately seen in the players' lives, but the orientation and continual learning process will help them later in their careers.
"The true measure of the success of the program comes three and four years down the road after the players have experienced all these things," he said. "You don't know what it's like until you're broke due to family members asking you for money, and since you want to be a good guy, you give it to them. If the players can have a budget and avoid that and avoid all of the other temptations out there, then we'll know this is successful."
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