Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Good Sport Award

A new feature to Reflections on Sports is the Good Sport Award. It's about sharing a story of an athlete doing something good and being recognized as a good sport. This time it goes to DB Brian Dawkins, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles and now with the Denver Broncos.

For those who don't know the story, his former team didn't want to resign him and so he left as a free agent and signed with the Broncos. He was well loved in Philly and fans didn't like the fact that the team didn't try to get him back. One such fan wrote about how upset he was on his Facebook page. Unfortunately, he also worked the Eagles organization, in a part time role, as a west gate chief. Because of his statements, he was fired.

Personally, I understand the sentiment (though I didn't agree with the expletive nature of the message) of the guy and felt bad that he lost his job. Turns out Mr. Dawkins felt bad too. Because the Broncos are playing the Eagles in Philly this year, Dawkins is giving his allotment of two game tickets as a visiting player to the man who lost his job. Here's a quote by Dawkins that he gave to the Philadelpia Daily News:

"I thought it'd be a good gesture. Had I not ... signed with Denver, that guy would still have his job. Obviously, he made a decision and out of emotion said something. He was one of probably thousands and thousands of Eagles fans who felt that way. That didn't surprise me, that someone said that on their Facebook. It did surprise me that he was let go, though ... I felt it would be a good thing, to reach out to that individual and just let him know how much I appreciate it.''

So, Brian Dawkins, you get a Good Sport Award. Keep up the good work.

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