Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/2/21 – From Press Release
Starting tonight, five NFL stars will take the field representing the HEADstrong Foundation through the My Cause My Cleats initiative.
Tonight at 8:20 p.m., Randy Gregory of the Dallas Cowboys will represent HEADstrong while across the field, Tony Jones, Jr. of the New Orleans Saints will do the same thing. On Sunday, Joe Mixon, the third-leading rusher in the NFL, and the Bengals will take on the Los Angeles Chargers with HEADstrong cleats on his feet at 1 p.m. and Rayshawn Jenkins of the Jacksonville Jaguars will take on the Los Angeles Rams at 4:05 p.m. while representing HEADstrong. Allen Lazard of the Green Bay Packers will represent HEADstrong the following week on December 12th against the Bears at 8:20 p.m.
Anyone wishing to donate to HEADstrong on one of these players behalf can do so at https://headstrong.org/mcmc/.
The initiative, created in 2016, is designed for NFL players to showcase the charitable cause that is most important to them in front of a national audience. Participating players will wear custom-designed cleats, in this case all of which were created by Dan “Mache” Gamache. A footwear designer for over 17 years, Mache has become one of the go-to footwear artists for the NFL, MLB, NBA and WWE in addition to several football brands.
“We are incredibly honored to have these players choose to represent HEADstrong on the national stage through this initiative,” HEADstrong President Cheryl Colleluori said. “Football is incredibly important to our family as it was the love of Nicholas’ life. He was a captain at Ridley High School and received All-DelCo and All-State honors during his career. To have these players sharing our mission on the biggest stage imaginable means the world to us and we could not be more thankful for their support.”
Gregory, a defensive end from Jacksonville, Florida, was drafted by the Cowboys in 2015 following his junior season at Nebraska. He has seen action in 45 games with 72 tackles and 15.5 sacks. His cleats are HEADstrong lime green, the color of lymphoma awareness, with the HEADstrong logo and initials GS. Those represent Gavin Schaffer, the son of his agent, Peter Schaffer, who is in remission from lymphoma.
Jones, a running back from St. Petersburg, Florida, signed as a free agent with the Saints in April of 2020. This season, he has seen action in six games with 106 rushing yards along with four receptions. Jones’ cleats are lime green with the HEADstrong logo along with the names of four people in his life affected by cancer – Gavin, Lillian, Rhylee and Josh.
Mixon, a running back from Oakley, California, is the third-leading rusher in the NFL with 924 yards in 11 games as well as 11 touchdowns. He also has 26 receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns this season. Both of Mixon’s cleats are HEADstrong lime green, with one featuring the HEADstrong logo as well as the initials GS for Gavin Schaffer while the other features the logo of Cancer Kids of San Joaquin County along with the name of a sister of a former teammate who passed away from cancer in 2019, Peyton Jones. In five seasons with the Bengals, Mixon has seen action in 61 games with 4,283 receiving yards and 31 touchdowns as well as 155 receptions for 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns.
Jenkins, a safety from St. Petersburg, Florida, was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017 and after four seasons there signed a four-year contract with the Jaguars this summer. For his career, he has seen action in 72 games with 225 tackles along with five interceptions. One of his cleats is lime green with the HEADstrong logo and the other is orange for the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.
Lazard, a wide receiver from Urbandale, Iowa, joined the Packers in 2018. For his career, he has seen action in 37 games with 88 receptions for 1,158 yards and nine touchdowns. Lazard’s cleats are HEADstrong lime green, along with the HEADstrong logo and initials GS to represent Gavin Schaffer.
