Jermaine Gresham Gets Early Start for Walter Payton Man of the Year
By Erik Lambert
People can so often forget amidst the many controversies involving knucklehead players that sports are rich with wonderful human beings. Take Jermaine Gresham.
The man has stayed out of the limelight most of his career. He’s been a solid tight end for a long time as both a blocker and pass catcher in Cincinnati and now Arizona. Most people don’t see him as much more than a good NFL player with a clean history. If only they knew the kind of person he really is. One young lady helped the wider world to find out.
Her name was Delilah Cassidy. According to her story, she’d just gotten back from a trip abroad and was heading home on an American Airlines flight. This is when she ran into a new policy that forced passengers to pay a fee for carry-on items. She tried to force her things into one bag but it proved too heavy. That meant she’d have to pay a $50 fee but the airline couldn’t accept cash payments. Her cards were useless because her bank didn’t know she’d returned to the states yet.
This meant she’d have to miss her flight walking all the way back to the ticket counter just to pay the fee. Out of options, it was then a man stepped up and asked what the problem was. Upon hearing her plight, he casually paid the fee and told her to have a great flight. Just like that.
The mystery savior? That’s right. Mr. Gresham.
Cardinals TE Jermaine Gresham helping a person in need ❤️ pic.twitter.com/uscygvotGB
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) May 30, 2018
Gresham is one of many unheralded examples of great people in the NFL
For all the grief NFL players get for this or that issue, many of them never shy away from using their vast wealth to help people in need. Though this gesture may appear small from a financial standpoint, it represents the kind of people like Gresham are. Unafraid to help a complete stranger and not requiring any sort of payback. So many other in the league could learn from his example.
Next: 2019 NFL Mock Draft: Oakland Raiders Put AFC On Notice
Miss Cassidy seems genuinely touched by his gesture and aims to fulfill his wish to pay it forward. If all it took was $50 to bring about that sort of change, then it was money well spent. Hopefully, there will be many more of these moments as the season progresses.