THONOTOSASSA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) have a history of players starring on and off the field.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin prides himself on being much more than a football player. That’s why, in 2018, he created the Team Godwin Foundation— raising funds for at-risk animals and underprivileged youth.
“We have the platform to help as many people as possible,” Godwin said. “We are fortunate to be able to do that, man.”
Team Godwin Foundation began with the idea of “adopt, don’t shop” when Godwin and his wife Mariah rescued their second dog, a pit bull named “Ziggy.”
“They are kind of like kids before you have them,” Godwin said. “You have the full responsibility of taking care of them. It’s another life. They teach you so much about patience and about compassion. Whenever you come home, they don’t know what happened in your day; they don’t know if you won a game, lost a game, you get back, ‘Dad’s home.’ They are happy to see you. That love and compassion translate to caring for other people.”
On Monday night, Godwin hosted a gala to auction off sports memorabilia to help support his causes — which also include fighting against human trafficking with Project G.O.A.T., and providing medical services for shelter dogs and relocating them if needed.
“Like in Houston, they have a lot of homeless dogs,” he said. “Sometimes the shelters get over-run; instead of having those dogs being put down, we are able to transport them out of bad locations into situations where they can go to a shelter where they have a chance at getting adopted.”
Of course, throwing such a big party, with your teammates in attendance, is always much more enjoyable the day after a 20-6 win over the Tennessee Titans.
“It’s a lot of times you get into the day to day, you’re working really hard, meetings, practice,” Bucs’ tight end Cade Otton said. “You see your teammates in that setting. To come here, see guys dressed up, looking nice, to be able to talk freely about whatever is going on in life, it’s really cool.”
“That’s the great thing about sports; you get to be a part of a group that is bigger than yourself and people that come from all different backgrounds,” Godwin added. “Like you said, coming off a win is much, much better.”
