Former Colt Devon McDonald Dares the 'Square to Make the Right Choices
Sports World Speaker Shares His Experiences with Tough Decisions

Former Indianapolis Colt Devon McDonald (1993-95) spent his March 4th morning at Fountain Square Academy sharing with the student body some of the tough lessons he learned as a teen and as an adult.

McDonald told of his high school days in New Jersey hanging out with a tough crowd and being surrounded by threats and violence. He recalled a critical day when he was called out by someone in a rival group and his friends urged him to kill the one who insulted him. He had minutes – not days, McDonald stressed – to decide whether he would take this loud-mouthed teen’s life or let him live. He didn’t have to decide, McDonald said, because the groups scattered.

He also described what he felt and how he reacted to being let go by the Indianapolis Colts in 1995. McDonald knew he was not working as hard as he could. He knew he was out late, concentrating on material things – cars, money, jewelry, women – and today understands the Colts organization’s decision. The firing registered with him; it affected him deeply.

He remembers thinking about killing himself and feeling he was a failure with no options. He now saw the lives of some of his colleagues as success stories. Not a dozen women, but one wife. Not distasteful jewelry, but investments in homes and retirement. Not just sports cars, minivans and SUV’s, too, for the kids. No clubbing on week nights; for them it was bedtime stories and routine.

McDonald told the students that for him, the key to saving his life was turning to God. One day as he sat in his car, he asked for help and for focus and says he found it. He continued playing ball with the Arizona Cardinals and later, for a period with the Tampa Bay Storm. Before his pro career, he played at Notre Dame on the 1988 National Champion team and was Notre Dame’s team captain in 1992. Colts fans elected him Unsung Hero of the Year in 1993 and he was the Colts 1994 Special Team Player of the Year.

McDonald stood before the ’Square students as a family man. No earrings, no chains, no (visible) tattoos. None of the signs of the fast life he has now discarded. At 6’ 4” and 245 lbs, McDonald commanded attention and spoke with enthusiasm and conviction, his residual Jamaican accent loudly filling the room. He looked healthy. When one of the students asked if he still played pro ball, he smiled and asked “Do you think this looks like the body of someone who plays professional football?” Uh, yeah.

He fondly mentioned a daughter and her school, talked about choosing where to live, and the simple and fulfilling peace that follows making the right choices.

McDonald has been working with kids through SportsWorld, Inc. for seven years. SportsWorld was founded by former NFL Chaplain Ira Lee Eshleman in 1978. Its mission is sending professional athletes out to school assembly programs “to share personal life experiences with students, helping them to recognize the consequences of their choices while challenging them with the message of Hope.”

McDonald stressed that message of never giving up hope. He was close to giving up, but found a way to survive. He encouraged our students to stay hopeful – whatever happens – to remember the resources and counselors available to them at school, and if they had nowhere else to turn, to give him a call.