Members of the Professional Football Players Mothers Association to attend luncheon, tour TSU

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Members of the Professional Football Players Mothers Association will visit Tennessee State University this week while they’re in the Music City for the NFL Draft.

On April 25, the first day of the Draft, TSU President Glenda Glover will host a luncheon and tour for the mothers of current and former professional football players.

Michelle Green is president of PFPMA. She said she’s looking forward to visiting TSU, as well as fulfilling the association’s main objective, which is to provide advice and support to families of players entering the National Football League.

Green is the mother of former NFL offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, who played in the league 12 years and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens.

“We want to be there as a support system for them, because we were there in that position at one time,” said Green, adding that the association also does a lot of community charity work. “It’s a different world once you cross over and go into the NFL. You’re entering a whole new game, and only those in it understand it.”

Member Sandra Atkins agreed. Her son is Geno Atkins, a defensive tackle who is in his tenth year with the Cincinnati Bengals. She said her advice to parents whose sons enter the NFL is, “continue to be a parent.”

“The bright lights start shining even brighter than they did in college, and some parents become fans and let their kids get away with things,” Atkins said. “Still, tell them what they need to know. If they listen, they listen; if they don’t, that’s fine. At least you were the parent and you did your job.”

The mothers’ visit to TSU is just part of the university’s participation in the NFL Draft. TSU’s famed Aristocrat of Bands is in a promotional advertising the Draft. And on April 27, Tigers linebacker Christion Abercrombie will announce the fifth-round pick for the Tennessee Titans.

Abercrombie made national news last season when he suffered a life-threatening injury in a football game against Vanderbilt University. Doctors didn’t think he’d survive. But Abercrombie has made a miraculous recovery since the Sept. 29 incident. On April 13, he attended the annual Blue and White scrimmage game at TSU.

Also, TSU alum Ed “Too Tall” Jones will announce the pick for the Dallas Cowboys. The defensive lineman, who appeared in three Super Bowls with the Cowboys, was their No. 1 overall pick in the 1974 NFL Draft.

Department of Media Relations

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Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 38 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and seven doctoral degrees. TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee. With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.