Dan Marino, Redskins' James Thrash, and Houston Texans' Amobi Okoye, 2008 JB Award winners.

April 4, 2008 -  Awarding excellence.   That’s what the NFL Players Association and the JB Awards are all about.   The latest roster of NFL players were awarded with the prestigious JB awards for their service and commitment to family, community, and professionalism in sports.   

This year’s players, who excel in their own right on the football field with their amazing feats of athleticism, excel off the field to help improve the quality of life for so many deserving families and communities.

Awardees this year include our own Washington Redskins’ James Thrash, and Baltimore Ravens’ Matt Stover.

Thrash, the Redskins’ wide receiver was nominated for a JB award for his participation of several events in the DC metro area that include Walk for Diabetes, and Walk for Cancer.  Thrash is also active with the American Heart Association/Redskins’ “Play 60”, which encourages kids to participate in physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day.  Thrash lent his support for Habitat for Humanity to build homes in the Loudon County area.

Matt Stover, Ravens’ kicker, continues his commitment of service to Baltimore’s residents by making countless donations to education through The Matt and Debbie Stover Foundation.

Other awardees included Seattle Seahawks’ Mack Strong; Dallas Cowboys, Roy Williams; Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson (JB Award - Emerging Leadership); St. Louis Rams, Christ Draft; San Diego Chargers, Kassim Osgood; Kansas City Chiefs, Brian Waters; San Francisco 49ers, Marques Douglas; Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Warrick Dunn; Cleveland Browns, Braylon Edwards;  Chicago Bears, Israel Idonije (JB Award – Global Dedication); Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Derrick Brooks (JB Award-Empowering  Youth); Arizona Cardinals, Kurt Warner.  Houstan Texans,  Amobi  Okoye;  Chicago Bears, Israel Idonije , and Chicago Bears, Adewale Ogunleye received the JB Award for Global Dedication for their efforts in support of education in Nigeria.

NFL players are nominated by their team mates, and selected by a panel that includes Jim Brown, CBS Sports Analyst and host of the JB Awards.

"I'm definitely honored", said Kansas City Chiefs, Brian Waters. 

"It's really a great honor not only for me, but for the people who back me, and support me.  It's for my staff, and those who work for me.  It's really for them, I'm just the guy standing here accepting it."

The event was co-host by analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Bill Cowher.

Sports columnist, Michael Wilbon served as co-host in 2007, and previous years.

This year's winner of the Byron 'Whizzer' White award went to the soft-spoken and humbled, Warrick Dunn.  Dunn, who signed in March with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is the founder of Homes for Holidays, an annual program that helps low-income families with first-time home buying in areas of Atlanta, GA, Tampa and Tallahassee, Florida, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Hall of Fame inductee, and former Miami Dolphins, Dan Morino received the JB Award for Lifetime Achievement.  He and wife, Claire, created the Dan Mario Foundation in 1992 for research and treatment for children with developmental disabilities such as autism.

The NFLPA is committed to improving the lives of those in our community.   Each year the JB awards raises funds for several area charitable foundations, among them is Special Olympics DC .  Each year Special Olympics DC  receives monies to help with the education, health care, and services for the area’s challenged adults, youth, and seniors.  To date, the NFLPA has donated more than $3M to the organization. 

Among the festivities for the JB award nominees, a football clinic where the players instructed several budding SODC athletes in football drills such as passing, kicking, and catching.

“It’s wonderful to celebrate a person’s abilities, but even greater to recognize the abilities of those with disabilities”, said SODC executive director, Steve Hocker.

Click here to learn about the amazing community service work of this year’s awardees.

Event photos | See 2007 photos | Audio (Coming Soon!)