By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
At 6’2” and solid muscle from head to toe, Darius Leonard is an imposing figure. However, the current NFL free agent and former Indianapolis Colts linebacker carries a meaningful message in an empathetic voice when he talks to teens.
On Friday, he stood before a group of young men at the Northwest Oho Juvenile Residential Center and offered some lessons he’s learned in his life. He visited the facility at the request of longtime friend and JRC staff member Bria Bronston.
Many of Leonard’s life lessons came with a price—two of his brothers were incarcerated for bad decisions they made and another brother was killed.
There were a lot of hard times for Leonard and his family who lived in a small South Carolina town. “We didn’t have a lot, but we had enough,” Leonard said about growing up in a single-mother household that struggled with heartache but always had love.
He knew he could have gone down a path similar to his older brothers who hung out with the wrong crowds and made bad decisions, but he saw how his mother was impacted by the mistakes they made. And conversely, when another older brother made it into the NFL, he saw how happy she was.
“I’d seen her cry and stress over nighttime calls or waiting to hear from my brothers,” he said. “I knew that I had to make a way out, not just for me, but to make sure that I put a smile on my mama’s face.”
Despite life’s obstacles, Leonard achieved his dream of becoming a professional athlete. His life experiences seemed to give him credibility when talking at the juvenile detention center.
He discussed the importance of making good choices, surrounding yourself with positive influences and not getting caught up in social media and the need to prove yourself to others.
“My thing was I had to make sure I had good grace and treat people with the same respect that I wanted to be treated with,” he said. “It can be hard, but you’ve got to understand that this world that you live in is all about the choices you make, and you have to live with those choices.”
There is so much pressure from peers and social media “to be a tough guy, to have the persona about yourself to impress everybody else,” he said. “But it takes a true man to walk away from that situation, because that 10 to 15 seconds can cost you a whole lifetime.”
Often the pressure from so-called friends to do something wrong can feel overwhelming, but “it’s okay to sit back and say ‘no.’”
He recalled having some friends who smoked and drank, but he chose to work hard and step away from parties in order to become the person he wanted to become. Leonard encouraged the boys to surround themselves with people who care and who will push them to be the best they can be.
“Don’t let negative circumstances or peer pressure define your future,” he said. “You may have made a mistake, but you can choose where you go from here.”
It is easy to get in trouble, but it’s very hard to get out of trouble, he said.
“Y’all have got to look yourself in the mirror and ask, ‘What do I really want in life? Do I want to be in this facility? Do I want to stay in this cycle or do I want better?’” he said.
“You’ve got to want the best for you. You’ve got to want it in order to give yourself the best opportunity for success,” Leonard said.
His goal was to be someone that he, his family and his community could be proud of.
Leonard also urged them to find their passion and pursue it relentlessly, while also taking care of their mental and emotional well-being.
If you love sports, that that sport and put all your time and effort toward that,” he said. “For me, whenever I was feeling stressed or angry, I just went outside and shot baskets or played sports. That was my happy place.”
Leonard told them to find their happy place, “and when you get there, stay there and don’t let anybody take your happy place away from you.”
He also stressed the need to be accountable, to forgive and stay mentally and emotionally strong.
Because he never learned to cry or express emotions, Leonard had some angry times after his brother was killed. “I didn’t know what to do. I’d never seen my mom or brothers go to therapy.”
In 2015, he started therapy and realized he needed to forgive in order to stop being angry. Writing was his catharsis for processing his emotions and the trauma he had experienced.
“If you don’t have the mind, the mental toughness to get through a situation, then you have nothing,” he said. “There’s nobody who talks to you more than you talk to you.”
He also learned that he needed to give back.
And he does that through his talks as well as through his philanthropy, Maniac Foundation. Maniac was one of his football nicknames for his energetic and productive on-field play. He and his wife, Kayle, who he met in kindergarten, established the foundation in 2020 to transform communities through education, wellness, serving families in need and other charitable causes.
Leonard uses his platform to be a role model to inspire and guide young people to make positive choices and reach their full potential.
His message at the JRCNWO was clear and seemed to resonate with the boys. He could tell they stayed engaged and attentive throughout the nearly hour-long talk. Their questions were thought-provoking and relevant – from “How do you deal with disapproval from others?” to “What is the hardest part of being famous?”
“I was impressed with their questions and hope they took my messages to heart,” he said. “I always try to be that positive influence and remind them, ‘You don’t have to be flashy. You don’t have to be arrogant. You just be a great human being, and it will come back to you tenfold.’”
