He’s won two Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was paid a hefty eight-figure salary for joining the Tennessee Titans. This upcoming season will be his sixth with the NFL. If football was hip hop, this would be the equivalent of four platinum-selling albums and six Grammy Awards. And he’s not even 30 yet.

Toledo native Nate Washington is living the hip hop dream. He may be a wide receiver for a professional football team, but the vision is the same: fancy cars, big house, financial freedom, and the biggest perk, the ability to give back.

Just like aspiring rappers who sit in their rooms for hours thinking of the most charismatic way to deliver a rhyme, Nate has been playing football since he was a kid, perfecting his craft and sharpening his skills. The stage may be different, but the result is the same: when the spotlight is on, he performs.

Nate Washington

Off the field, the show doesn’t stop for Washington. One of the biggest stigmas in hip hop is an artist turning his or her back on the community in which he or she was raised. This city is usually the catalyst that propelled him or her to stardom in the first place; to leave it behind as if it never existed would be preposterous. But no one had to tell Washington that. Every Thanksgiving, Washington gives away free turkeys in the heart of the inner city, in the plaza on Bancroft and Franklin. It is far from the best neighborhood, and others would quickly turn their backs on the residents. But Washington embraces the city. He issued prizes for the winners of the famed City Park Tournament, a basketball competition held every summer, and has an annual school supply giveaway. And on Christmas, the SeaGate Centere was filled with toys and coats for his annual giveaway. Perhaps the biggest word here is annual; in hip hop, consistency is everything.

But Nate doesn’t stop there. Any hip hop artist could buy toys and write them off on their taxes. Realizing that there is a bad situation with the youth in Toledo, Washington is presently buying new jerseys for a mid-city football league he started in 2008. He played for such a league, as did all his friends, and he knows the mentoring aspect is highly beneficial. His charitable works are proof that he believes in his nonprofit organization’s mission statement: “Impacting the community, by inspiring the youth.”

Lots of hip hop artists hold workshops for aspiring artists, encouraging creativity and promoting positivism. Washington has followed those footsteps, and parents can look forward to Nate Washington’s First Annual Football Clinic, this Saturday, May 8 for kids ages 8-17. The camp will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Maumee Soccer Center (1620 Market Place Drive). It is not too late to register; the forms can be filled out at www.85th.org. There will be more than ten NFL players at the camp, including Chris Johnson and Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans.

This weekend, Toledo will be home to Nate Washington’s First Annual Celebrity Bash. Friday, the festivities will take place at Plush Nightclub (338 N Huron St). The event will be hosted by NFL player Willie Parker, with more than ten NFL players in attendance. Proper attire is a must, and patrons must be twenty-one and older. Saturday, the party continues at Omni (2567 W Bancroft St), and will be nothing short of a star-studded event. Platinum hit-maker Mannie Fresh will DJ the event, and there will be performances from Trina, Young Buck, Slim Thug,and more. It’s hosted by NFL legend Jerome Bettis and several other NFL greats. For only $30, an aspiring celebrity can party with their heroes in VIP, with Patron treatment as well. But does Washington spend the profit from this event on another expensive car? No; all the proceeds go to his nonprofit organization, the 85th Foundation.

If that ain’t hip hop, I don’t know what is.

Tags: Nate Washington, The Word I Heard

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Star, The Word I Heard.
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Growing up in Toledo, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Nate Washington never dreamed of an NFL career.

“I didn’t really start thinking about the NFL until my senior year of college,” Washington said. “My coaches told me it was a possibility and that was really the first time I even realized that I could play [professionally].”

Washington attended Scott High School and played four years for the Bulldogs. While his team’s records never quite showed, Washington said he learned many life lessons during his prep sports days.

“We were never quite as good as teams like St. Francis, St. Johns, and Central,” he said, “but we always played hard and learned many things about life from many of our coaches and mentors.”

Washington

He moved on to Tiffin University and Washington said that it was a bit of a culture shock.

“When I got there, I was the only guy from Toledo,” he said. “I was the small guy from the inner city, but it was my time at Scott that had taught me to persevere through times when you are alone and on your own.”

The undersized kid from Toledo had to work hard to find his way onto the field of play for the Dragons, and Washington said his Tiffin University experience jumpstarted his career from nonexistent to stardom.

“I had to work hard at Tiffin, and I got a chance to start midway through my freshman year,” he said. “It was hard work and started to pay off. I went from being an unknown kid to walking around campus to everyone knew who I was.”

Washington parlayed his career at Tiffin into a shot at the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was signed as an undrafted free agent and ended up making the Steelers in 2005, the same year they won the Super Bowl at Detroit’s Ford Field.

“I didn’t play much during that first year, but I had the feeling like I was a kid in a candy store,” Washington said. “I just remember when we won and looking in the stands and seeing my mom and my family. It was just an awesome experience.”

The Super Bowl would come calling for Washington and the Steelers just three years later, but this time the Glass City native would be a main cog in the Steelers championship run.

“I remember when we beat the Cardinals, and I just dropped to my knees and cried,” he said. “I realized all that hard work that I had put in had paid off. It made me appreciate that championship even more.”

In March of last year, the Tennessee Titans signed the wide receiver to a six year, $27 million contract. Washington said that playing in the Volunteer State has been different, but it has been rewarding as well.

“When I signed at Tennessee, it kind of made me realize that this was for real,” he said. “I was welcomed with open arms here, but I realized that I was an adult. I said to myself that it was not just football anymore but it was my life now. There was a lot of off the field emotions that came with this move.”

The Titans struggled at the beginning of the 2009 season, but the team closed out the season strong by winning eight of their last nine games and just missing the playoffs. The late season rally placed the Titans as a contender again.

“I am really excited about next season,” Washington said. “I expect big things from us next year too and I think we are going to be pretty good. We have a lot to look forward to it.”

While he is excited about his football future, Washington is excited for his work off the field. The Scott alum has several events planned in Toledo to help better his hometown.

He has a football camp planned for this summer, and he has been participating in several fundraisers. Washington is excited for all of his philanthropic endeavors.

“I have been in the league now for five years, and I never had the funding to do a proper football camp,” he said. “I never dreamed of being in the NFL as a kid and I want every kid to come to the camp with a dream. I could’ve come back and just done a camp and left. But I wanted my camp to be more than that.”

Washington is hosting a fundraiser May 8 at the Omni to help raise money for the Pee Wee football leagues in town. The fundraiser will go into raising money for new uniforms for all of the teams and Washington hopes it will jumpstart a passion for the gridiron amongst Toledo’s youth.

“I want to get the kids back to the days like when I was growing up and football was a family affair,” he said. “Kids were excited to play football when I was growing up and I want kids to feel that way again in town.”

Washington feels strongly about his hometown, and he is passionate to begin making a difference in the lives of kids who are in a similar boat that he was in a few years ago.

“I had to do things the hard way, because I didn’t know any better,” he said. “But this town raised me and has given me a sense that I can do anything. I want these kids to be able to dream big, and they can be anything. Toledo taught me to come home and make the lives of those kids better.”

For more information on Nate Washington’s fundraiser at the Omni on May 8th, contact the Omni at (419) 535-6664. The Omni is located at 2567 W Bancroft St. in Toledo.

Tags: Nate Washington, The Omni

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 11:54 am and is filed under Pro Football, Star.
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