A customized “502” pendant dangled from Jamon Brown’s neck as he began to preach to 150 children who were all wearing his jersey.
Brown, who grew up in Louisville — the area code on his necklace — could never afford that piece of diamond-laced jewelry when he was a child. At times, his family scrambled to find a place to live. His life has changed, but the lessons he learned haven’t. And now, he wants to teach them to the younger generation.
Earlier, the participants at the third annual Jamon Brown Foundation youth football camp heard of what he calls his “Three L’s: Look, Listen and Learn.” They practiced all morning on a humid Saturday in Kentucky to the sound of coaches repeatedly mentioning that phrase, but never truly heard what it meant. They soon did.
“I’m at the highest level I can be, but I still have to be coachable,” said Brown, the 6-foot-4, 340-pound offensive guard who signed this offseason with the Falcons in free agency. “People are trying to take my place, and if I act like, ‘I’m good enough,’ they’ll pass me by. The “Three L’s” we learned today won’t help you only in football, but in the classroom and life.”
Those Three L’s have applied to Brown’s life at every stage, and they still do. This August, he’ll compete to start on the Falcons’ offensive line, the team’s most important and competitive position group. It’s something Brown said he embraces, and he said he’s ready for it.
The battles he’s faced before — homelessness, uncertainty, embarrassment — far outweigh this.
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