Former Rutgers Football Star Eric LeGrand on How He Turned Personal Tragedy into Empowerment for Others – Grit Daily

In the face of things you cant control, you can control your attitude about them.

In 2010, Eric LeGrands life changed forever, when a player for Rutgers, Eric went for a tackle on special teams, hit with the crown of his head and collapsed to the ground.

Eric did not know the immediate ramifications until his mother revealed them to him several weeks later; he was paralyzed from the neck down.

Through the whole ordeal, no one did more for his family than former Rutgers coach, Greg Schiano. When I asked Eric about it, comparing it to my conversations with former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, Eric agreed, the best college coaches want to make stand up men, not just football players.

Eric made the decision to continue to be the positive guy in-spite of the grim outlook. That outlook has made an incredible impact, hes regained movement in his shoulders and continues to drive for more every day, as referenced by his frequent social media postings from Kessler Rehabilitation Center.

Ive always been that happy-go-lucky, life of the Party want to be around guy. My entire life, Ive always been like that. And when I got hurt, I said I wasnt going to let this injury define me. I was 20 years old, Im like God willing, I have many, many more years to live. I dont want to be miserable. I hate that feeling of being upset being mad or being disappointed a something. I hate that feeling so I said to myself.

Im not going to let this get to me, I know Im going to need a lot of help. This was a long road ahead of me. But its possible and then, I was overwhelmed by the support it took off it went, not just nationally, it was Internationally. It was all over the place. because I was getting letters from people in China, Australia, reaching out to me, sending me stuff. So Im like, you know it kind of turned into a responsibility and I cant give up now. All these people have eyes on me. Eric LeGrand

Its not just about him, but the people he can impact. Eric has started a foundation, created a clothing line, writer a book and speaks fo people all over the world.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him to a contract as an undrafted free agent in May 2012. In 2017, LeGrand was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as the third recipient of the Warrior Award.

He is the recipient of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2012 ESPYs. Eric is also the creator of the Roll Model clothing line.

Eric Le Grand sits down with me, Jeremy Ryan Slate, to talk about impact, big goals and being a Roll Model on the latest episode of the Create Your Own Life Show.

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Former Rutgers Football Star Eric LeGrand on How He Turned Personal Tragedy into Empowerment for Others - Grit Daily