First off, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?
I’m currently the President of BKI Canada- we are a disaster remediation service company. Just like you’ve seen with the flooding and hurricane damage in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina – our organization works with insurance companies to get homes and lives back to livable standards. It’s an interesting industry – you don’t think about it until something happens to you at three a.m.
I knew nothing about the industry when I retired. Now we see, year over year, times have gotten worse weather-wise. So there’s been more need for our services.
Was the transition difficult from football?
Definitely yeah, it was tough. Especially when you do one thing your entire life. I played football in high school then at the University of Minnesota. Then I played in the NFL and Canada for 11 years. So I’ve had that structure and way of life for most of my life.
I was ok with the transition but it was tough. I was used to being in front of people, but now I am in a different way. The timing was perfect. In 2013 in Calgary there was a huge flood. Calgary is a big city – over one million people. That’s how I got into the industry. I see something new everyday – different people and situations. I looked at it then as an opportunity to help people in their time of need.
How different was playing football at the high school level in Canada versus what you heard from others who played in the States?
It was a different mindset. My first love was basketball – football was just something I did at first, hanging out and playing with friends.
It was a different mentality. We’d play in front of 200 people in high school in Canada – that was a big crowd. My first game at Minnesota we played Penn State – that was their first year in the Big 10. It went from games in front of 200 people to 60,000. That was an eye-opener. It was taken so much more seriously in the States.
Your family moved from Jamaica to Canada when you were a child. What brought on that move and how much did that background impact who you were as a person and player?
My mom and dad moved from Jamaica to London, Ontario in the mid-70’s. There was a big migration of Jamaicans to Canada then – all looking for a better opportunity. I was three then so I don’t remember much of it.
When we moved football was not a big deal for us. It was soccer, cricket and rugby. Dad started liking football and watching it on TV. He was a huge Giants fan – he loved Lawrence Taylor. I remember watching the NFL with him as a kid on TV. But my brother influenced me most to play. He played before I did. We also watched a lot of the CFL – I was a big Hamilton Tiger-Cats fan.
You were drafted by both the NFL and CFL. Why did you choose the NFL instead of your “hometown league”?
I didn’t know I was drafted by the BC Lions at first. My dad called and told me. As a kid I aspired to play professional football but wanted to play in the top league. I did my best to make that work first before transitioning to the CFL.
I know you played for a few NFL teams before ending up in Pittsburgh – how did you end up with the Steelers?
It was interesting. I found that wherever I played in the NFL there was someone there who knew me and brought me in.
When I was in San Diego Kevin Gilbride was the head coach. That was in ’98. I started off on the practice squad and ended up on the active roster and started the last few games. Gilbride was fired before I was made active – we didn’t interact with each other much there.
I went to Seattle for a bit then to Jacksonville. The week I was in Jacksonville we played the Steelers. I remember being on the sidelines before the game – Kevin Gilbride was coaching with the Steelers then and came up to me and talked with me a bit. That was weird to me – he never spoke to me in San Diego. He told me Pittsburgh was interested in me when I was on the practice squad in San Diego and wanted to sign me now that I was with Jacksonville. I said “Yeah, ok.”
That Monday the Steelers called and picked me up and put me on their active roster. I was excited – I watched Pittsburgh a lot on TV in Ontario.
Did anyone help you adjust to the Steelers – on and off the field?
We didn’t have cellphones then – but Carlos Emmons and I had the same agent. I didn’t know him well but we attended some of the same dinners through our agent. That helped – having someone who I knew when I was there. He helped guide me. It takes time coming in mid-season. He helped introduce me to some guys and that helped.
Any good memories stand out from your time there?
I remember the walking into the stadium for the first time and I couldn’t believe it. The team wasn’t the best then but that year there were a lot of Hall of Famers there like Jerome Bettis. My locker was next to Kordell Stewart’s. I couldn’t believe I was sharing the locker room with those guys and felt that tradition and history. It was brief but amazing.
One memory does stand out. When I got there I didn’t get a lot of reps with the offense. I did some scout team type stuff and special teams work.
Well, during a game I was standing on the sidelines next to Kevin Gilbride and Coach Cowher when Kevin looked at me and asked me “Hey, are you ready to go in?” I had only been there a week and was still learning the playbook. I said “No.” I didn’t want to put the team at a disadvantage. But I regret it now. I just thought afterwards “Aw man, I should have said yeah and figured it out.”
How important was it for you to go back to the CFL and participate in four Grey Cups and win three of them?
Growing up in Canada, it was an amazing experience to be a part of four Grey Cups. A lot of people in the U.S. don’t understand the history of the CFL. It’s been around for over 100 years – there’s a lot of tradition there. To participate and have my name on the Grey Cup – that’s the biggest sports honor you can have next to the Stanley Cup. The Grey Cup is one of the most viewed events and experiences in Canada next to the Stanley Cup. I’m proud of it and the chance to have helped the league grow.
I tell my kids now and they just tell me I sound like Al Bundy! But it’s a big deal!
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