Gerald McCoy Named Week 14 NFLPA Community MVP
Tampa Bay defender started new foundation, held annual Christmas event for single-parent families
GERALD McCOY NAMED WEEK 14 NFLPA COMMUNITY MVP
Tampa Bay defender started new foundation, held annual Christmas event for single-parent families
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Gerald McCoy has been named Week 14 NFLPA Community MVP for launching the Patricia Diane Foundation to assist single-parent households and hosting his sixth annual McCoy Family Christmas for 40 families in need.
“I am honored and humbled to be named the Week 14 NFLPA Community MVP,” said the Tampa Bay defensive lineman. “I feel blessed to be in the position to be able to give back to my community. I genuinely appreciate the [NFLPA’s] donation to my Patricia Diane Foundation. We’ll definitely put it to good use!”
Named after his late mother, McCoy’s new foundation will focus its outreach on providing resources to improve the lives of single parents and their children in the Tampa Bay community. In doing so, he hopes to help them overcome the difficulties that he faced growing up in a single-parent household.
The All-Pro hosted the charity’s inaugural fundraiser on Dec. 7, when he welcomed 100 guests, including several of his Buccaneers teammates, to the celebrity gala known as Patricia’s Mission Night. The live auction helped raise more than $90,000 for the foundation’s outreach programs, with McCoy personally donating $20,000 of his own money.
Four days later, he and his wife, Ebony, held their sixth annual McCoy Family Christmas at the Buccaneers training facility. Forty single-parent families from the local community enjoyed a memorable holiday experience that included a festive meal, holiday music and decorated Christmas trees. Under each tree were gifts – personally wrapped by the McCoys -- from the families’ wish lists for them to enjoy on Christmas Day.
While this month marked the birth of his foundation, McCoy has long been made an impact on his local community. Along with his annual tradition of renting out an entire movie theater and providing free tickets, popcorn and soda to families for a sneak preview of a superhero movie, he organizes an annual turkey dinner drive each Thanksgiving along with his defensive line teammates for families in need. In 2019, he plans to make regular visits to pediatric hospitals and hold a back-to-school backpack giveaway through his charity.
In honor of McCoy being named this week’s Community MVP, the NFLPA will make a $10,000 contribution to his foundation or charity of choice along with an in-kind donation to him on behalf of our supporting partner Delta Private Jets. A limited-edition bobblehead will also be made of McCoy and sold by our supporting partner Forever Collectibles at www.foco.com. The NFLPA will donate part of the proceeds from this collector’s item to their charity or foundation of choice.
The NFLPA is also proud to partner with Life is Good, the original positive lifestyle apparel brand, to showcase athletes whose values align with the brand’s commitment to growing the good in their communities and helping those in need. In January 2019, Life is Good will further advance the MVPs’ worthy causes with theLife is Good x NFLPA commemorative T-shirt collection at LifeisGood.com and Fanatics.com. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to each player’s charity or foundation of choice.
McCoy, along with the other 2018 Community MVPs, will become eligible for this year’s Alan Page Community Award, which is the highest honor that the NFLPA can bestow upon a player.
The NFLPA Community MVP program recognizes NFL players who are making a positive impact in their local communities. Each week during the regular season, the NFLPA will celebrate one NFL player who has demonstrated a commitment to giving back to his community. Please visit our website to read more about the program as well as the current and past winners.
2018 NFLPA Community MVP winners*:
Week 0: Tyrann Mathieu, Houston Texans
Week 1: Melvin Gordon, L.A. Chargers
Week 2: Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 4: Damon Harrison, New York Giants
Week 5: Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 6: Kelvin Beachum, New York Jets
Week 7: Devin & Jason McCourty, New England Patriots
Week 8: Kareem Jackson, Houston Texans
Week 9: Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks
Week 10: Andrew Whitworth, L.A. Rams
Week 11: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
Week 12: Von Miller, Denver Broncos
Week 13: Ben Garland, Atlanta Falcons
###
About the NFL Players Association:
The National Football League Players Association is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players, and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through 2020. Learn more at www.nflpa.com.