By John Ingoldsby, Player Engagement Insider
When New England Patriots defensive end Chris Long steps on the sod Sunday at Gillette Stadium, he will be leaving a large footprint that will reach all the way to Africa. That’s because he will take the field wearing blue-and-silver custom cleats to raise awareness for his Waterboys initiative that builds lifesaving clean water wells for communities in East Africa.
He won’t be alone, as some other players will be sporting cleats supporting Waterboys as well, and they are just a few of the 500 or so NFL players participating in the league’s “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign highlighting their various charitable causes.
“When the League told us about this, I thought it was a great idea and an opportunity for expanding our cause since people will look at the cleats and that will perhaps get different groups to look at our website,” said eight-year veteran and first-year Patriot whose late-game strip-sack helped secure the Patriots win over the Jets last Sunday.
“So, we worked with the designers to make sure our signage with the logo would be on the cleats, which will be worn by other players so it will be seen in other markets,” stated Long, whose cleats will also by worn by, among others, Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich and Long’s former Rams teammate and current punter Johnny Hekker when, ironically, Los Angeles plays the Patriots on Sunday.
“We want to widen the net since our efficient cause for clean water is so easy to grasp mentally,” said Long who also started The Chris Long Foundation, which will also be featured on the cleats to create visibility not only for his water initiative, but also its additional focus on military appreciation, homelessness and youth in need.
To that end, the son of Hall-of-Famer, former defensive end Howie Long works with former U.S. Army Green Beret and NFL free agent long snapper Nate Boyer in an annual climb of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, where Chris first learned of the serious water issues in Africa when he climbed the iconic summit a few years ago.
“We are going back in March, when retired players like (linebacker) Chad Brown and (center) Nick Hartwick will be paired with armed service veterans in our “Conquering Kili” challenge,” explained Long, who added that “This is the result of the good marriage we have with Nate Boyer, a great ambassador who likes to get involved, and no one understands the Third World better than those who served.”
A marriage made in heaven to be sure, and one with a climb goal of raising $100,000 to add more wells to the approximately 14 already built, with an eventual target of 32 to represent the number of NFL teams.
“We want to get more players involved and change the lives forever of these wonderful people in dire need,” said Long, a University of Virginia graduate. “We all agree that we face a challenge that affects much of the world.”
A daunting challenge affecting countless children and adults that Long is spearheading one step at a time.
“The premise of the cleats campaign is for the players to represent their various causes, and we hope this helps create a contagious effect for all people to be passionate about what matters to them,” Long said.
John Ingoldsby is the President and Founder of IIR Sports, Inc. a sports media firm based in Boston. He has covered the NFL throughout his career that began as a newspaper reporter/editor, which includes articles in Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine (NFL Player Engagement), London-based Financial Times newspaper (NFL's international strategy), the Philadelphia Daily News (annual NFC Coaches Breakfast) and the Boston Globe (Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll).