Thaddeus Bullard, AKA WWE's Titus O'Neil, was a force to be reckoned with in the ring, and he is now using his celebrity, philanthropy, and compassion to mentor kids across the Tampa Bay area.
Bullard retired from professional wrestling in 2021. Before that, he was a star football player at the University of Florida. A five-year defensive lineman, Bullard worked his way out of a tough childhood. He was already a success upon arriving on campus. He went on to win a national championship during his redshirt freshman year at Florida and played in 44 games for the Gators over the next four seasons.
ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska sat down with Bullard for a candid conversation inside our ABC Action News Studios.
"Regardless of race. I want everybody to start focusing on being a better human being every day," O'Neil said. "And so I feel like if we start talking to one another and looking at perspectives as opportunities to bridge the differences, society will be much better. That's what Black History Month is about. It's about taking the shortest month of the year and at least, at the very least, acknowledging the pains, sacrifices, victories, and reasoning as to why the fight continues and should continue."
Despite his fame and celebrity, Bullard never forgot his mentors. And he's dedicated his life to helping communities in need, like East Tampa.
"And, I've helped over 300 kids go to college in the last 10 years," Bullard said. "Sometimes, when we look at kids, especially black kids, but all kids, you know, somebody will see that kid acting out, and they'll say, 'What's wrong with that person? What's wrong with that kid?' Nobody ever really asked, 'What happened to that kid?' And when you find out what happened, then you can find out what's wrong so that you can, hopefully, you know, move it to make it right. And that's been my, my gift."
"What's the number one issue facing kids in Tampa?" Paluska asked.
"With our kids these days, I think the number one issue is access to resources and access to really good people," Bullard said. "That's one of the reasons why I do a lot of the work, obviously for people everywhere throughout the Tampa Bay region, but most importantly in the 33610 zip code in East Tampa, is that for years, there's been a lot of money poured into that community. Still, to me, it's been very transactional, and I want to engage people from all walks of life to come into certain spaces to be transformational. That's how my life was changed. And my hope in 2025 is that because of, you know, opportunities like this, where we sit down and not only highlight during Black History Month but throughout the year, different stories of different game changers, connecting from all walks of life and just really focusing on the issue of just making greater human beings."
For more information on connecting with the Bullard Family Foundation, click here.
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