4 things to know about Chicago Bears’ Jason McKie
 photo by Steed Media Service
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CHICAGO – Jason McKie might be soft-spoken, but in the community and on the football field the Chicago Bears fullback is a real force to be reckoned with. The Florida native and Temple University graduate has been in the National Football League (NFL) for seven years and with the Bears since 2004. rolling out caught up with McKie when he was playing video games with participants in the Cabrini Tutoring Program. During the interview, McKie, who stands about six feet tall and weighs 245 pounds, opened up about his perspective of the NFL and his inspiration for his foundation. –gavin philip godfrey
On being a businessman: “The NFL is definitely a business. You know when you were coming through middle school, high school and college it’s a game, but when you get to this level, it’s definitely a business. They invest a lot of money in different players, so you’ve got to treat it as business and you’ve got to be consistent. Consistency is key in this league and that’s how you stay in it.”
On playing for one of NFL’s only black coaches: “It’s an honor to be playing under a coach, like Coach Lovie Smith. I think he does a great job and we all look up to him. He’s definitely a great Christian guy and I don’t know who wouldn’t want to play for him.”
On the impetus for the Jason McKie Foundation: “My father was in the military and works at the Pentagon now, so I’ve got a foundation called the Jason McKie Foundation and we do a lot of things for military families. We just had a big bowling event back in May. We have a movie night in which we rent out the whole movie theater for military families and we’ll [watch] movies with them. Families [receive] free tickets and a lot of my teammates are there as well. I try to come out and do a lot of things in my spare time, just to give back to the community.”
On why embracing the black youth is important: “Anytime you can do that, it’s definitely a great thing. If you can impact one child’s life, you know you’ve done something great. For us to come out here and spend time with them is nothing for us, but it could mean the world to them so I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to come out here.”
