Super Bowl champ hands off football for literacy

Malcolm Mitchell, who helped the New England Patriots win Super Bowl 51, came to Maricopa today, but pro football is no longer the name of his game.

Instead, Mitchell schooled nearly 80 kids with the Boys and Girls Club of the Sun Corridor about the importance of reading in their lives.

Today, he’s a literacy crusader, a poet, author and inspirational speaker.

Sporting the Super Bowl ring he earned as a rookie wide receiver for the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady, Mitchell read his 2021 work, “My Very Favorite Book in the Whole World,” to the enrapt youngsters inside the Santa Cruz Elementary School auditorium. He quizzed the kids about the main character Henley and other aspects of the book, rewarding them for listening. The Valdosta, Ga., native who today lives in Atlanta was a top NFL pick out of the University of Georgia.

He shared why reading is so important.

“I loved football and I thought football was the most important thing in the world,” Mitchell told the young audience. He said he learned later in his youth to get over his fear of books.

“I thought some words were too big and I thought some sentences were too long,” Mitchell said. “And I thought some books had too many Mipages.”

He asked the kids if they sometimes thought reading was too hard.

“I learned that I needed to overcome my challenge and fear of reading, so I could grow up to be the best that I could be,” he said. “I’m here today to not only encourage you to be the best readers you can be but be the best explorers you can be. I want you to be curious. I want you to ask questions. I want you to read every single day.”

Patti Coutré, Maricopa Unified School District Governing Board vice president and a Boys and Girls Club leader, called Mitchell “awesome” and said he was sponsored and brought to Santa Cruz school by Cox Communications.

The company has joined with Mitchell to narrow the learning gap in diverse, low-income neighborhoods through its Connect2Compete program, which provides internet access to eligible K-12 students and families at low cost.

Mitchell is the founder of Share the Magic Foundation. Its goal is to improve literacy in under-resourced communities.

After his presentation, Mitchell explained why he travels around the country to inspire kids to read.

“I’m just trying to do my part,” he said. “I didn’t grow up with a lot of resources. I remember how that felt. I remember how much I dreamed and hoped for more. I just wanted to be a better person. My mother gave it to me and I feel that I should try to give it to others.”

He said he believes that kids should be given the opportunities regardless of the environment they were brought into.

That’s why he has dedicated his life to helping children become literate.

“I’ve been engaging with children in some capacity since 2014,” he said, starting when he was still a Georgia Bulldog.

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