When the Patriots win the Super Bowl on Sunday, I am not going to be as miserable as I usually am. Instead, I will cheer for the fact that their wide receiver Bernard Reedy will earn a Super Bowl ring (and he might not even be in uniform).
When he receives it, that will not be the most shining moment of his life, his year, his month or even his week. His most important moment will be when he climbs into his Care Ride van, drives to a person's house, assists them into the vehicle and then drops them off at their destination.
And he won't get a ring for it.
He will get $11 per hour.
Care Ride is a company that provides transportation for people with disabilities and the elderly.
Win or lose (probably win), Reedy has pledged to return to work at Care Ride in Florida as soon as he is able.
Although the company is not a charitable organization and does collect fees for their work, it appears that Reedy is in it for more than the whopping $11 per hour. If the Patriots win, he will earn $112,000 (even if he doesn't even suit up). But that won't stop him from helping those people in need.
According to Reedy,
“As soon as our offseason officially starts, I’ll be back at Care Ride when I’m able to. The work don’t stop. Everybody still needs help.”
Reedy masterfully assists a person who uses a wheelchair.
How many fantasy points does he get for that?
By NFL standards, Reedy has faced quite a bit of adversity. At only 5'8" he does not fit the trend of giant, lanky wide receivers. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has been cut 6 times in 4 seasons. In addition, he spent all of 2016 rehabbing a knee he injured in 2015.
Since November 19th, Reedy...
- Was cut by the Bucs
- Was signed to the Patriots practice squad
- Bounced between the active roster and practice squad
- Returned 4 punts for 32 yards
- Was cut from the practice squad on January 3rd
- Went back to Care Ride
- Was resigned by the Patriots on January 17
Although that kind of bumpy ride might cause anyone to call it quits, this is not the case for Reedy. Here's his take:
"That's just what comes with the NFL and what teams need for them," Reedy said. "My job is to stay ready, be respectful, be coachable and be that positive person that I've always been. Like I will always be ready, even through the ups and downs, being released, getting put back on [the roster], I'm still going to be the same old person regardless of what might happen."
Determination.
I would imagine it takes a tremendous amount of guts and determination to simply not give up, walk away and perhaps start your own service provider company. Where does he get the motivation to keep going?
You got it. He is inspired by the people he helps.
“I used to think about a lot of the people I would pick up and the situations that they [were] in and the stories I heard. Some of the stories, the normal average person wouldn’t believe, but that stuff’s true,” Reedy said. “It’s just ironic that I’ve had a job like that in the situation that I was in. To be around positivity and listen to people go through what I went through — I went through it sportswise and they went through it in life. It was tough to want to play and to want to be on somebody’s team and [I] just [didn’t] get the break yet, but I also thought, ‘What about the people on life support? What about the people who can’t walk that want to walk again?’ That stuff’s way more serious than running around and playing football.”
Although there is a very strong possibility that Reedy won't even play on Sunday, there will be no one on that field who accomplishes anything greater than what Reedy has done this season.
No drive on Sunday will be nearly as important as the ones Reedy executed in September.
One week after making the Tampa Bay 53 man roster to start the season, Reedy did something he usually doesn't do during the football season. He reported for duty at Care Ride.
While the rest of his new teammates left Florida to avoid Hurricane Irma, Reedy stayed behind to transport several of Care Ride's clients to evacuation shelters equipped for people with special needs.
An NFL player passed up a private jet ride to safety in order to stick around and help people in need.
Heck I might even actively root for the Patriots.
Nah that's crazy.
But for once, I'll have a reason not to throw my remote.
https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-bernard-reedy-return-11-153049608.html
