The Atlanta Falcons will participate in the NFL's "My Cause My Cleats" campaign during Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers. Through this initiative, players have selected over 30 charitable organizations to represent through their cleats. This collaboration between the NFL and players provides an opportunity for these athletes to use their platform, express their passions and give back to causes they support.
2 | QB MATT RYAN – MARCH OF DIMES/NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL
“I want other families going through this to know they’re not alone. We’re also sharing our story to create awareness for finding ways to help babies who are born prematurely and providing our doctors with every opportunity to give these kids the best chance. This is just one small piece of what we plan to do to try and help Northside and the March of Dimes."
13 | WR CHRISTIAN BLAKE – AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION
“I picked this organization because my dad has diabetes. I know that lifestyle – growing up and watching him have to do insulin and all of that. It really was just for my dad. I know how life is for him and I have a soft spot for people with diabetes.”
15 | WR BRANDON POWELL - AUTISM SOCIETY
“I chose down syndrome and autism awareness because I have a little brother who has down syndrome. Being with him while we were growing up, he wanted to always play sports, but he couldn’t because of what he was going through. That is why I want to find out how I can help those kids and make sure they can do what they want to do. After being in the NFL for a year now, I want to help use my platform to raise awareness for those causes.”
20 | CB KENDALL SHEFFIELD - SUSAN G. KOMEN FOUNDATION
"I chose Breast Cancer Awareness. I know a couple of women who have died from breast cancer and I think this is a good awareness. It's something that I wanted to do."
23 | RB BRIAN HILL – PARTNERS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
“This hits home for me. I have a little sister that just had a daughter. The way we are built, men are stronger than women – that is the only thing that is guaranteed so there is no reason to put your hand on a woman. I feel real strongly about that, no matter what they did, just get out of the situation without hurting them.”
28 | DB JORDAN MILLER – HUMANE SOCIETY
“I picked the Humane Society because I have a dog named Nipsey and she’s the best thing in the whole world. I got her through the Humane Society. If I could find my dog like that, I feel like there are plenty of other dogs that are there too.”
30 | RB QADREE OLLISON – AMERICANS AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE
“I chose this cause because I lost my brother to gun violence in 2017. That’s my way of supporting and representing him.”
33 | CB BLIDI WREH-WILSON – ATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK
“There are a lot of kids, I think a stat I saw was around 60 million kids, that go hungry or don’t get the nourishment that they need in a day. Having kids not be able to get a meal, that is something that I feel like sets back some of the youth in America. I have done food drives before, but this is something that the more mature you get, and seeing my niece and nephew and things like that, it makes me think I would never want to see them go through something like that.”
34 | S CHRIS COOPER - AUTISM SPEAKS
“I picked this cause because my little cousin was born with autism. I also have a friend named Shaq, whose cousin has autism too. I just thought about them and wanted to show them some love.”
37 | S RICARDO ALLEN – EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
“I always feel like I’m put on this platform to give back to the things I truly care about and that is one of the things I care about. I want to be able to show it to the world with whatever chances I get. I donate and help as much as I can.”
44 | OLB VIC BEASLEY JR. – RALLY FOUNDATION
“We raise money for childhood cancer research. Ever since I started working with this foundation, it’s been a blessing to me. One of the reasons why I chose it is because the kids are an inspiration to me. Whether they know it or not, they’re an inspiration to me.”
45 | LB DEION JONES – LOUISIANA COALITION AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
“I just want to bring awareness to taking care of our Queens, our women and our kids. I think the home should be a safe haven and I definitely want to bring attention to that. This year, I decided to do something against domestic violence. I picked Louisiana to give a little tribute to back home. I feel that men are supposed to take care of the household. The home should be a safe haven, so I am just trying to bring more awareness to bring that back into homes.”
51 | C ALEX MACK – AMERICAN FOOTBALL WITHOUT BARRIERS
“We go to different countries and some of which have pretty established football leagues around the world. They know about football, care about football and have their own leagues. We are there to bring attention to that and help coach them up and get them there. A great goal of ours is every camp, we try to find a kid that’s college eligible and get him recruited by a college. It’s tough, but it is always a goal that we keep our eye out for. Also, this is about bringing football players and letting them see the world. It is good to get some NFL guys overseas to see different cultures, experience different things and donate their time and interact with kids. They have been to China, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Turkey and a few more places.”
76 | T KALEB MCGARY – OCEAN CONSERVANCY
“Conservation in general is important. Marine life is dope. I grew up in Washington and we went to the coast often. I wanted to highlight killer whales on my cleats because I think they’re cool. They’re really smart and they’re pack predators.”
97 | DT GRADY JARRETT – GRADY HEALTH FOUNDATION/GRADY GIVES/HUGHES SPAULDING CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
“Grady Gives is about giving back to the community. We’re focused on youth empowerment more than anything. From anti-bullying, to leadership, to visiting schools and hospitals, we try to cover the whole realm. It’s really about serving.”
98 | DE TAKK MCKINLEY - THE COALITION TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE
Takk McKinley chose to represent the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence on his cleats.
HC Dan Quinn – Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (T.A.P.S.)
“My Cause My Cleats is a great opportunity for us to show our support to the T.A.P.S. organization. T.A.P.S. has set the standard for letting the families of our fallen heroes know they are supported and that we have their backs. Their loved ones will never be forgotten.”
14 | WR Justin Hardy – American Heart Association
“My father passed away from it [heart attack] when I was in college. That’s my whole thing, to give back.”
16 | QB Danny Etling – Catholic Charities
“Catholic Charities is an organization that my grandfather started. There are some different ones around the country and the local one is something that I know does a lot of good in the community. It is really just an opportunity to help people through the Catholic Church that aren’t as lucky throughout the community of Terre Haute, Indiana. This is a charity that I feel like does a lot in the community and is something that I thought was local and close to home and has done a lot of good."
18 | WR Calvin Ridley – Soles4Soul
“There are many places in the world where kids walk to school without shoes on their bare feet. After the season, I am going to travel internationally and give out at least one hundred pairs of shoes to kids that don’t have shoes.”
21 | CB Desmond Trufant – Tacoma Kids
“Tacoma Kids is a nonprofit gym in Tacoma, Washington. We target underprivileged youth but we are also a regular gym so anyone can come workout. We definitely target underprivileged kids and free/reduced lunch kids so that they have a place to come workout and get life skills and business skills. We kind of touch a little bit of everything. We do a turkey giveaway, a coat drive, Christmas giveaways, and stuff like that. We are just enriched into the community and try to do something positive. I have always been a part of the Trufant Family Foundation, but me and my cousin Louis Davis Jr., started Tacoma Kids nonprofit to tie with our gym as well.”
24 | RB Devonta Freeman – Devonta Freeman Foundation
“The Devonta Freeman Foundation tries to help out people as much as we can. We try to impact all communities who are in need to help kids. We like to help whoever, but we try to look to underprivileged families and underprivileged kids. Georgia and Florida, specifically Tallahassee, are the areas we are most involved.”
40 | FB Keith Smith – Dedicated Dads and Daughters
“I think it’s important to spread the love and make sure people know to be more generous and caring for each other. Most of the events I do, I try to incorporate my daughter and teach her the importance of giving back.”
41 | S Sharrod Neasman – Youth Empowerment
“It’s close to family. It’s my brother’s. It’s about teaching kids to embrace themselves. It gives them an outlet, people they can go to, mentors and things like that as they go through life. It’s targeted at lower income areas and it’s based in Orlando.”
47 | LS Josh Harris – Lutzie 43
“One of my best friends in college, his name is Philip Lutzenkirchen, played tight end at Auburn and he passed away in a drunk driving accident a few years ago. His family started the Lutzie 43 Foundation to educate everybody on the importance of safe driving habits. Philip was one of my best friends, so when he passed away, that was really tough for all of us. I still get to be in touch with his family and do some things with the organization. To get to represent that organization through the cleats is something I’ve been looking forward to.”
50 | DE John Cominsky – Operation Underground Railroad
“Sex trafficking is a bad thing and a lot of people are blind to it. It’s something that is extremely serious and it’s just kind of walked right over. People don’t think about it, so I just wanted to be another voice raising awareness about it. I thought it was a cool opportunity.”
54 | LB Foyesade Oluokun – Lift for Life Academy
“This is a school that I work with when I am back home. I started with them in high school as a community service project. The way they originated is they took underprivileged kids and basically ‘lift’ them by staying in school. They preach to keep your SAT and ACT scores up and are expanding to get sports teams and other stuff. It is a school that I want to keep on helping out. When I went back last year, I talked to the kids to let them know I am big on education and trying to expand yourself through education first.”
63 | G Chris Lindstrom – Best Buddies
“This is an amazing organization and I am so proud to be a part of it. We do so many different things, like we just had a gala a couple of weeks ago to help fundraise to open a state office here in Georgia to provide more opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. They [Best Buddies] are at a lot of high schools and colleges, however, Georgia is one of the few states that doesn’t have a state office. By opening a state office, it really helps provide more opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Being a part of this great organization and knowing that Georgia is somewhere that can see improvement with people with intellectual disability is something I am really excited to use my platform as a Falcons player to help that cause.”
68 | G Jamon Brown – The Jamon Brown Foundation
“The Jamon Brown foundation is an organization I started in my second year of the NFL. Our mission is to impact the lives of people who are affected by violence, poverty and homelessness. We’ve done a lot of things with homelessness. That’s something that I experienced when I was younger. It was something that was near and dear to me, and I wanted to be an ambassador of making a change within our city and any city that I’ve touched.”
71 | G Wes Schweitzer – Forever Family
“My parents divorced when I was eight. My mom was divorced three times, so we went through a lot of transitions. As a single parent, I know how tough it is to worry about food stamps and stuff like that. I know how tough it is to raise several kids as a single parent. It’s a cause that hits close to home.”