By J. Pamela Stills
Special to the AFRO
Two-time Super Bowl champion Darrell Green, with his family on hand, accepted a Key to the City from Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Oct. 19.
Green spent his entire football career with one team, playing 20 seasons for the Washington Redskins. However, that accomplishment alone did not garner the recognition and award from the city. According to the mayor’s website, the Key to the City is “a symbol of civic recognition and gratitude and is considered the highest honor an individual can receive from Washington D.C.”
Family, friends, well-wishers and representatives from the Washington Commanders organization gathered at Franklin Park to celebrate Green.
“You get the Key to the City because you’ve done a lot for the community,” said Commanders limited partner Mitchell Rales in his speech.
Rales then spoke on Green winning the Walter Payton Man-of-the-Year award in 1996, an award that represents a commitment to philanthropy and community. Rales went on to quote the words Green’s son, Jared, spoke during his dad’s NFL Hall of Fame induction.
“‘The definition of a true hall-of-famer is someone who is great at everything. My dad was a great football player … but he’s an even better man, son, brother, father, friend, business man, and most importantly, a man of God,’” he recalled.
In her remarks, Mayor Bowser said Green “… represents D.C. values … represents the D.C. spirit: scrappy, fast, underestimated and a champion.”
Before presenting Green with the Key to the City, Bowser told the crowd she is stingy with the honor, bestowing it only a handful of times.
In ending her remarks, Mayor Bowser told the crowd that the Commanders plan to retire Green’s jersey but no one can retire his spirit.
In his acceptance, Green acknowledged his family and talked about having one day off from the NFL and using it to work with his wife, Jewell, to positively impact the D.C. community. Green told the crowd they all have a metaphorical piece of the “Key” and he wants them to go out and serve.
Green was picked in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, then went on to play as a cornerback for the Washington NFL team for 20 seasons. Green played his last NFL game in 2002 at the age of 42 against the Dallas Cowboys and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Green won the NFL’s Fastest Man competition four times and holds the league record for most consecutive seasons with an interception at 19.