NFL players take a lot of s***, but are doing amazing things we need to talk about

One of my favorite things about the NFL is all the amazing things players do in their communities. From charity softball games to silent auctions raising money for good causes to youth football camps and hospital visits, there’s hardly a day that goes by where an NFL player isn’t making a difference in their community.

This week, the Saints held a charity softball game that included super fan Jarrius Robertson, Steve Gleason’s son Rivers, and plenty of NFL players. The whole thing was awesome and featured some great moments that you can watch here.

This comes days after the Packers had a charity softball game of their own, which unfortunately is being talked about due to Clay Matthews breaking his nose during the event. With that said, it was for a good cause! (Get better soon, Clay!)

Shifting back to a positive note, the Bears rookies spent a day in May, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and his wife Jordan helped to raise $220,000 for families with seriously ill or physically-challenged children at their Night to Pass It On event. You can donate to that cause here; which Bills fans did when the Bengals knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs, thus sending Buffalo to the postseason for the first time in 17 years.

And the NFL’s most recent Walter Payton Man of the Year continues to blow everyone away with his kindness. J.J. Watt offered to pay the funeral costs for those killed in the shooting at Santa Fe High School last month and beyond that has gone to visit survivors of the shooting in the hospital.

You may remember Watt helped to raise more than $37 million last year for those in the Houston area affected by Hurricane Harvey. Watt wasn’t the only Texans player making an impact after the hurricane — Deshaun Watson gave his entire first game check to cafeteria workers affected by the storm. That’s incredible to watch, regardless of your NFL fandom.

Another Houston player, Jadeveon Clowney, used some friendly “trash” talk with Jaguars fans as a chance to donate toys to charity in December.

In Philadelphia, a slew of players are making an impact off the field, including Carson Wentz, who recently presented a $520,000 donation to Mission of Hope Haiti for the construction of a sports complex in Haiti. Wentz’s AO1 Foundation foundation is also starting a food truck named “Thy Kingdom Crumb,” which will drive around Philly giving out free food to those in need.

Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins is very active in the Philadelphia community too, and spent part of last April with other NFL players fighting for criminal justice reform on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, Jenkins highlighted the positive steps many NFL players — including Chris Long, Ben Watson and Demario Davis — have taken to make a difference.

Acorss the world, a group of NFL players — and Rex Ryan — recently traveled to Europe as part of the USO’s efforts to show America’s service members how much they are appreciated. NFL.com detailed the trip and it’s a great read.

With so much negativity recently surrounding the NFL, it’s nice to remember the many amazing things NFL athletes are doing off-the-field.

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