Current NFL Players Announce Gridiron Guardian Holiday Initiative To Raise Money for
Retired Players in Crisis

Minnesota Vikings Center Matt Birk Launches Grassroots
Humanitarian Initiative
DONATES $50,000 To Kick Off The Program

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (December 9, 2008) – Minnesota Vikings Center Matt Birk today announced that he has launched an initiative among active NFL players that will raise money and provide support to retired NFL players in crisis and address the catastrophic conditions experienced by many of these individuals. Gridiron Guardian Sunday will take place on December 21st, 2008
Birk, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and Harvard University graduate, will spearhead the second annual Gridiron Guardian Sunday program and has selected Mike Ditka’s Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund to distribute the funds through the organization’s player assistance program.

Surrounded by Mike Ditka and former NFL greats Bill Brown, Rich Gannon, Carl Eller, Chuck Foreman, Rick Graf and Jim Marshall during a press event to unveil the player assistance program

 Birk announced that he has personally committed $50,000 to the cause. He is asking current NFL players to donate a portion of their game checks to the Gridiron Guardians initiative for all games taking place December 18-22. The donations will help provide financial aid and medical and social services to retired NFL players in dire need. Players can elect to keep their donations and participation confidential or release their names publicly.  

“Today I am asking NFL players to stand with me and donate a portion of their December 21 checks for retired players in need,” said Birk. “Large or small does not matter everything helps. We have benefitted from the sacrifices made by the players of yesterday. Sadly, the price paid by some of those who came before us has been costly. They live in excruciating physical pain and severe mental anguish as a direct result of their playing days. In too many instances, these men have had to deplete their financial resources in an attempt to achieve a quality of life that is bearable, and many have no health insurance or access to medical care. We need your support to help those who came before us. Without it, many of these former players will continue to live in despair and pain.”
Birk has provided every active NFL player in the league with a donation card and a packet of information including overviews of many retired players in crisis that were helped by funds raised by active players last season. Fans can click here to read a copy of Birk’s letter, to active NFL players active players can also visit the same site to find a copy of the sign-up/donation sheet and learn more about the initiative.
In 2007, Kyle Turley worked with the Gridiron Greats to create the Gridiron Guardian Sunday program, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from active players for needs such as food, shelter, medicine, medical services, child care and transportation. To date, the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund has provided more than $800,000 in direct and indirect aid to retired players.
 

“Many of the current players of today’s game are great humanitarians, and it is amazing that they have reached out to help many of the players who came before them who are now suffering. This is not their responsibility, and the fact that they care and are helping these guys is incredible,” said Mike Ditka, board member of the Gridiron Greats. “The Gridiron Greats organization is so grateful to Matt Birk for not only the significant financial contribution he has made, but for continuing what Kyle Turley started last season.  We are thankful to all active players who have made this initiative so successful, and we hope to have their continued support.”
Three former NFL players who are in crisis joined Birk and Ditka to discuss their situations and how funds from the Gridiron Guardian program were necessary for them to be able to live a semi-normal life. Dwight Harrison, Robert Brown and Cleveland Crosby all spoke about the impact of the support from current NFL players.
“I am an 11-year NFL veteran who has gone days without eating while living in a trailer that has no running water,” said former Buffalo Bill Dwight Harrison. “I suffer from debilitating post-concussion issues and other medical conditions. The NFLPA took my disability and pension from me. The only funds I have received are from the Gridiron Greats through the Gridiron Guardian Sunday program. If not for the kindness of today’s players and the Gridiron Greats, I don’t know what would have happened to me.  All I can say is thank you to the men who play this great game today.”
One hundred percent of all the funds donated will go directly to player assistance and medical programs through the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.  None of the funds from this initiative will be used for overhead.  “It is externally player-to-player,” said Jennifer Smith, executive director of the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund. “In the coming weeks, we will work very closely with Matt and his colleagues to coordinate this massive fundraising effort.  We are grateful to Matt and all players participating in the program.”

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