2017 NFL DRAFT

[-Jrabbit]

Oh please. "Protecting the safety of our players" is just the NFL's version of "our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims."
Pure PR. They care about protecting the safety of their bank accounts against lawsuits, nothing more.

[rah]

I never said I thought anything different.

[rah]

Now why couldn't the bears draft someone as dedicated as this guy

After missing his connecting flight in Chicago on Sunday, June 4, one night before the start of the final week of voluntary OTAs, Wright immediately started planning how he would get to Orchard Park by 7 a.m. the following day for team meetings.

“For me it was no question that I had to make it here,” said Wright. “I actually had a redeye booked and I ended up changing that flight and taking an earlier flight to the 2:30 [p.m.] flight just to give myself some margin for error just in case something happened.”

After calling the airlines to weigh his options, Wright learned that the next available flight would not get him to One Bills Drive on time. While renting a car to drive himself was still a possibility, he knew he wouldn’t get the sleep that he needed to perform in practice.

“My flight ended up getting in late, so I wasn’t able to make my connecting flight,” he explained. “I called one of my ex-teammates that lives in Chicago…and he wasn’t able to take me and Uber was my next thought.”

In slight disbelief that someone would agree to take him so far, Wright instantly jumped in the Uber and explained his situation.

“This guy accepted the ride and I called him right away and told him ‘Man, I need to go to Buffalo, N.Y. that’s eight hours are you willing to take me there?’ and he said ‘Yea man, I’ll take you anywhere you need to go. I told him the situation. I told him I had to make it there by 7 a.m.”

Setting out around 10 p.m., the friendly and sympathetic driver rode straight through the night, making just one stop for gas. While the thought of sharing a car with a complete stranger, for eight hours nonetheless, could be a bit daunting, Wright took the time to get to know his driver and discovered he had quite the remarkable story.

“He actually was a refugee,” said Wright. “He was out in Chicago with no family. He had a handful of friends and is trying to be an astronaut. He didn’t know any English when he came. He’s been inspired by his dad [who was a pilot] so he’s just going to school and trying to be an astronaut – he’s paying for it by himself…He had a great story to tell.”

After exchanging stories, the driver let Wright get some sleep. Shortly after he woke up, Wright found himself at the team facility with just three minutes to spare.

“Meetings were at 7 and I made it to the facility at 6:57 or 6:58,” said Wright. “So I was in a rush to make it inside. I gave him a $300 tip and he was really appreciative. I just told him ‘Thank you man, I really appreciate it.’”

In the version i originally read it said that when he first started talking to the uber driver, he thought he meant just going out for buffalo wings.

[SlowwHand]

This guy is destined to succeed.