MUST WATCH: Andrew Whitworth's Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award Speech

Dante2/11/2022 2:40 PM

I just watched this speech and was blown away.

Jaw on the floor.

What a speaker. And what a message.

I always knew Whitworth was a beast on the O-line, but what an incredible man of the people off the field.

He won the Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award tonight at the NFL Player Awards and man oh freaking man did he deserve it.

After a montage of the endless community outreach projects he has led and lent his time to throughout his entire career, he stepped to the stage and delivered one of the greatest speeches I have ever heard.

"This award, though, has been about players who are great on the football field, but live with their hearts off it," Whitworth said Thursday in his acceptance speech, which brought tears to the eyes of many of the NFL's biggest and toughest stars. "They made their time in the NFL about more than just the stats they put out on the field, but how they lived off of it. I'm humbled, I'm honored to stand up here and represent the outstanding class of 2021 nominees and all of the previous winners."

"I'm here to tell you we have more work to do," Whitworth said. "Social media has been great for bringing awareness for all our causes. But that's not enough. We need more action. Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, this is the truth: The people who come to see us play, who watch our game on TV, buy our jerseys, who follow you on social media, they're why our game exists. It's why we have a field to play on. We are financially supported and provided the opportunity to play a kids' game, because of the support we receive from communities across the county and across the world.

"But how are we supporting back? In what ways are we paying it forward to the same communities we all grew up in, we all came from, or maybe the people that we've seen struggling along the way we got to where we are?"

For Whitworth, contributing to the communities he calls or has called home breaks down rather simply: giving back financially, contributing your time or using your platform and voice to bring about change.

"It's called an investment," he said. "You can apply those three things to any charity or cause you have a passion for. You can invest your time, you can invest your finances or you can invest your voice, doesn't matter which, we just have to keep investing in each other. Let your heart lead you all the way."

The most touching part of the speech was the part Whitworth mentioned an encounter on the field with Derrick Barnes from the Detroit Lions running up to him on the field after time expired. He caught Whitmore off guard and told him "you're not gonna remember me, but you came and spent time with me when you were a young player at the Boys and Girls Club in Cincinnatti. You sat and talked to me about life, and I want you to know how much it meant to me. The main thing I want to say is, I made it. I made it to the NFL Big Whit."