McNabb, Rice urge peace at Hall of Fame

MOUNT CARMEL | NFL star McNabb, ex-NFL star Rice urge peace at Hall of Fame ceremony

May 3, 2008 BY TINA AKOURIS, Chicago Sun-Times

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb went back to his former high school Friday and implored Chicago students to stop killing each other.

''It bothers me to see that on TV, you guys killing yourselves,'' said McNabb, who was at Mount Carmel to be inducted into the South Side school's Hall of Fame.

A 1994 Mount Carmel graduate, McNabb was joined by '92 alumnus and longtime NFL defensive lineman Simeon Rice.

Speaking to a packed gym of students, faculty and parents, McNabb said no matter where he goes, he is a Chicagoan at heart, but watching national news coverage of the recent shootings of Chicago area schoolchildren is upsetting.

McNabb, a Dolton native, asked the Mount Carmel students why teenagers are shooting each other. Twenty-four Chicago Public Schools students have been killed by gunfire this year.

''You guys are killing yourselves, and for what?'' he said. ''To get a better pair of shoes? What are we doing? We're taking [life] away from each other.''

McNabb addressed the perils of living in gang-infested areas. He pointed out that when he and Rice, who lived in the Roseland neighborhood, were at Mount Carmel, they were approached to join gangs but refused.

''You got a guy trying to recruit you, and we had the same thing,'' McNabb said. ''We had no problem saying no. You need to do something with your lives. Get off the streets and stay at home. Do your homework and put the Sony PlayStation 2 joysticks down.''

Senior Steve Filer, who will play football at Notre Dame next fall, said McNabb's message hit home.

''In my AP government class, we talk about the violence and kids dying so early,'' Filer said.

McNabb said the speech wasn't planned or written out in advance.

''I thought about a couple of things and just went off the cuff,'' he said. ''I wanted to be real and relate to them and give them something to ponder.''

McNabb also emphasized to the Mount Carmel students how he went to Syracuse on a football scholarship and graduated in four years with a degree in communications and a double minor in African-American studies and business.

He will begin preparing for his 10th NFL season today when he reports to the Eagles' minicamp. He was the second pick in the 1999 draft and led the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX.

For McNabb and Rice, trail leads back to Mount Carmel

May 5, 2008, BY TINA AKOURIS, Chicago Sun-Times

It started out as a raucous pep assembly. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Simeon Rice were being inducted into Mount Carmel's Hall of Fame on Friday morning.
There were two banners hanging in the Cacciatore Athletic Center: one of Rice, a 1992 graduate, and another of McNabb, a '94 grad who was all skinny neck and big ears.

Rice took the podium first and waxed poetic to the students, faculty, guests and his parents, who sat in the front row. He talked about his days at Mount Carmel, when he first walked into the school as a freshman and how he and his friends would dream and dream big. Rice wanted to be the next Walter Payton. He was a running back on the Caravan's lower-level teams, idolizing the older varsity back, Bobby Sanders.

But in his junior year, Rice was benched and sat back as the Caravan marched to a state championship without him. It was before his senior season that coach Frank Lenti moved Rice to the defense.

And a star was born.

Rice's play took off. He helped Mount Carmel win another state title and earned a scholarship to Illinois, where he was the Big Ten freshman of the year and a two-time All-American. The Roseland-area native became the No. 3 overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. That season, he was the NFL's defensive rookie of the year. With the Bucs, he won Super Bowl XXXVII and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

Rice had short stints in Denver and Indianapolis last season. The Colts released him in November, but Rice said he plans to play this coming season.

'Don't ever be denied'
His humor lapsed into a touching expression of gratitude for Mount Carmel.

''We're years apart, but we're still brothers in the Caravan community,'' Rice told students. ''My sacrifices were leisure and partying. Keep your personal integrity. Don't ever be denied.''

Then it was McNabb's turn. He also broke out the humor.

''When I came here, the first thing I did was look around and thought, 'We gotta wear this nasty brown and gold.' My older brother went to St. Francis de Sales, and they wore blue and had girls over there,'' McNabb said.

McNabb was a first-year varsity quarterback on that 1991 state-title team with the senior Rice. But McNabb said playing on the Caravan wasn't about dreaming of being the next Warren Moon or Randall Cunningham.

''My sophomore year, we lost our first two games,'' he said. ''But then I was running the option offense, and I did it in a state-title game.

''[Junior year] we saw Simeon on the cover of the Sun-Times as a freshman starting in the Big Ten, and we always looked to see what Sim did,'' McNabb said.

McNabb worked his own magic at Syracuse, where the Dolton native was a four-year starter, a 1998 Heisman Trophy candidate and the Big East player of the decade. The Eagles drafted him with the second pick in the 1999 draft. In 2005, he led the Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX. Over the weekend, he began his 10th NFL season at Eagles minicamp.

He got serious with the students, asking why so many teens were killing each other. This year, 24 Chicago Public School children have been killed by gunfire.

As McNabb grew angry, the gym grew quiet.

'Change your life now'
''When I'm away, I'm still a Chicago guy,'' he said. ''I never forget where I come from. I love Chicago. It bothers me to see on national television that you guys are killing yourselves.

''Put the PlayStation 2 joysticks down. Oh, you didn't hear me? I said, put them down. I'm sending you a message now: Change your life right now. All of you can have your pictures up there like Sim and me, and the next time I come back here, I expect to see you do it.''

The players' speeches weren't scripted. Both wanted to speak off the cuff and get the students' attention.

''It was great [for McNabb] to tell us to stay off the streets because it's crazy,'' said Mount Carmel senior Justin Morgan, a wide receiver who has signed with Wyoming. ''It's hard to believe that people your age are dying.''

McNabb said he tries to convey the same message to youth in Philadelphia, where the murder rate is high.

''I spoke about it last year, that we have to put the guns down and pick up some books,'' McNabb said. ''They should look to the sports world or to [Barack] Obama and eliminate the violence.''