Passion, purpose guide Rock Hill’s Benjamin Watson in his quest to be a man for all seasons

This Saturday, on the eve of Super Bowl 50, the National Football League will name the league’s top coach, most valuable player for the season and the Walter Payton Man of the Year, going to the player who has made a significant positive impact on his community,

The Man of the Year committee will choose from:

▪ Benjamin Watson, Northwestern High School graduate and currently tight end for the New Orleans Saints

▪ Eli Manning, quarterback for the New York Giants

▪ Anquan Boldin, wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and a finalist for the award last year.

Each team nominates one player for the Payton award. The finalists were announced last week.

The Man of the Year committee of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Sports Illustrated writer Peter King, Payton’s wife, Connie, and three former winners – Anthony Munoz, Ladainian Tomlinson and Carolina Panther Thomas Davis – will consider resumes and reputations. Each finalist has a long list of accomplishments.

But how do you measure a man when he is often reluctant to talk about himself, deflecting attention to others? How do you measure a man who has let his actions speak for him?

Those who know Watson in Rock Hill and in New Orleans know the essence of Watson is not adequately captured on a resume or a list of bullet points or even a playing of You Tube sound bites or highlights.

His life is an intersection of purpose and passion that propels him.

Foremost, they say, you must understand that everything in Watson’s life is driven by his Christian faith.

Faith

As the son of a preacher, Watson says there was never a single moment when he became more faithful, more charitable.

“It’s not about doing, it’s about a lifestyle,” Watson said during a recent phone interview from New Orleans. “It’s about loving other people the way we have been loved by God.”

That love led Watson and his wife, Kristen, to start the non-profit One More Foundation in 2008. The Watsons believe the best way to instill hope and love is to meet people’s basic physical needs first.

Watson lists his dad, Ken, as his biggest influence. Watching how his dad prepared for a Sunday sermon at Rock Hill Bible Fellowship Church helped him academically. His dad, a linebacker at the University of Maryland, encouraged Watson and his siblings athletically.

The result, says his former Northwestern High school football coach Jimmy Wallace, is Watson perfectly embodies the YMCA motto of building a healthy mind, body and spirit.

Athletically he starred at Northwestern, accepting a scholarship to Duke University. After a year there, he transferred to the Univeresity of Georgia. Picked in the first round of the NFL draft by New England in 2004, he spent his rookie year on the injured reserve list, but nonetheless earned a Super Bowl ring when the Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. He signed with Cleveland in 2010 and New Orleans in 2013. This past season with the Saints was statistically the best he has had in the pros.

While nurtured with an unshakable, foundational faith, it took a national tragedy to grow Watson spiritually.

Ferguson

Watson was sitting in a Target parking lot, waiting for his wife and children to return from shopping. He was mulling the grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, in the shooting death of Michael Brown, who is black.

Watson started typing his thoughts into his cell phone. He was angry, frustrated, fearful, embarrassed, sad, sympathetic, offended, confused, introspective, hopeless, hopeful and, most of all, encouraged.

He wrote he was encouraged “because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem; it is a SIN problem” and he was encouraged because “God has provided a solution for sin through his son Jesus,” and he was encouraged because “the Gospel gives mankind hope.”

A friend helped Watson post his thoughts to his Facebook account.

His teammates, black and white, thanked him for posting his thoughts.

His coaches, black and white, thanked him for posting his thoughts.

Then the floodgates opened. The post went viral.

“There was a lot more opportunity to talk about issues outside of sports, about issues that are more important than sports,” Watson said.

He talked about religion and faith, about violence and terrorism, about Planned Parenthood and abortion.

“There are so many diverse, polarizing issues, and we all have ideas. I have the opportunity to express how I feel and do it from a place of truth. . . not trying to point fingers at people, but to point out how we can get can get things better.”

“There are a lot of times we are scared to speak out,” Watson said, “But, God gives you the willingness to be bold, experience the spirit giving you the words to say.”

Watson expanded his Facebook post into a book, “Under Our Skin,” subtitled “Getting real about race – and getting from the fears and frustrations that divide us.” The hope is that the book will further the national conversation about improving race relations.

Fatherhood

In “Under our Skin,” Watson writes about his grandfather “Pop Pop,” who was born in 1920 to a Southern society that embraced “separate but equal” – a society definitely separate, but hardly equal.

Pop Pop “didn’t often reveal” his experiences with racism to his grandson, Watson writes in the book. But, grandfather and grandson were much alike. Pop Pop could be a man of few words, but his actions were influential.

“His tenderness with us kids and later my kids,” is one of the lasting memories Watson has of his grandfather. Pop Pop helped teach Watson “the importance to tell people you care about them, you love them.”

It is clear that Pop Pop’s teachings – and those of his parents – affected Watson. He wants to be the best father possible to his five children.

The effort constantly shines at the New Orleans Family Justice Center, where Watson volunteers, says Mary Clair Landry, the center’s executive director.

“He is a humble, generous, faith-filled man,” Landry said in a recent phone interview. “Every interaction with him is the same.”

Watson and his wife started volunteering at the center three years ago – before the spotlight of domestic abuse focused on the NFL and its players.

When the national attention turned to the NFL, Watson and Eli Manning were among the players who made television commercials for the league’s “No More” initiative.

Watson’s actions were more than just a television commercial.

“He has been a strong role model and makes a difference for our kids,” Landry said.

Watson has helped families “feel good about themselves,” Landry said. Every Christmas he takes 25 families from the center on a shopping spree. “It helps the families feel that somebody cares,” she said.

It also shows when Watson returns to Rock Hill to participate in football camps or to just talk to students.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction,” when he meets people he went to school with who are now parents, Watson said.

To help those children, Watson’s One More Foundation made a $10,000 donation to the Rock Hill Schools Education Foundation. The foundation has pledged to use the donation as an endowment, spending only the interest it generates on teacher grants.

Wish they had a vote

Watson’s commitment to be a “conduit of blessings and not a cul de sac,” is the reason people such as Jimmy Wallace in Rock Hill and Mary Claire Landry in New Orleans wish they had a vote – or at least some influence – in the NFL’s Man of the Year decision. They see a man who has influenced not only a community but also a nation. A man willing stand up, start a conversation and listen – and also willing to help find solutions.

They, and others, see a man of the year.

This story was originally published January 31, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Passion, purpose guide Rock Hill’s Benjamin Watson in his quest to be a man for all seasons."