By Annie Butler
Prolanthropy
It’s not often that we get to see NFL players compete off the football field, but on March 29, 30 NFL players took their talents onto the hardwood to raise money for two worthy causes. In the Fourth Annual Battle of the Beltway Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game, Ravens Wide Receiver Torrey Smith and Redskins Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan drafted a team of players to leave it all on the court in support of their foundations.
4,500 fans came out to watch the showdown at University of Maryland’s Comcast Center. It featured star-studded lineups on both sides of the court including:
Team Smith
Baltimore Ravens: Torrey Smith, Gerrard Sheppard, Haloti Ngata, Jacoby Jones, Marlon Brown, Terrell Suggs, Tyrod Taylor and Sam Koch; LaQuan Williams (free agent), Anthony Allen (Buffalo Bills), Joe Haden (Cleveland Browns), Tori Gurley (Cleveland Browns) and Anquan Boldin (San Francisco 49ers).
Team Kerrigan
Washington Redskins: Ryan Kerrigan, DeAngelo Hall, Niles Paul, Darryl Tapp, Kirk Cousins, Dezmon Briscoe, Fred Smoot (retired), Antwaan Randle El (retired), Darrell Green (Hall of Fame); Josh Morgan (free agent), Greg Hardy (Carolina Panthers), Greg Little (Cleveland Browns), T.Y. Hilton (Indianapolis Colts), AJ Francis, (Miami Dolphins), Nate Prater and entertainers Big Tigger, Wale and Mister V-I-C.
With two seconds left in overtime, Jones scored the game-winning basket giving the Ravens a 63-61 victory. Gurley and Hall were named Battle of the Beltway MVPs.
“The event has grown a lot since I started it in 2011,” said Smith. “I knew I wanted a foundation as soon as I was drafted. We held this game in my high school gym in Fredericksburg, VA to kick the whole thing off. Seeing it expand to this magnitude is our vision coming true.”
Smith invited Kerrigan to join him this year at the Battle of the Beltway after the two realized they shared a mission to help children. Smith’s focus is in Baltimore, providing educational opportunities to children in-need.
“Really, my goal is to help people up and down 95,” said Smith. “Ryan is doing his part to make that happen in DC. It makes sense for us to work together where we can.”
Kerrigan’s Blitz for the Better Foundation has a mission to support critically ill and special needs children in DC. Though in its first year, his foundation has already started to make an impact.
“The Ravens might have edged us out in the end,” said Kerrigan, speaking of the game, “but I really feel like we’re both the winners today. The reason that both our foundations exist is because of everyone here tonight.”
The Battle of the Beltway raised almost $100,000. These proceeds will benefit both The Torrey Smith Foundation and the Ryan Kerrigan Blitz for the Better Foundation and their missions to help children up and down the Beltway.