A recipient of the 2012 Jimmy V Award at ESPN’s ESPY Awards and the WWE’s 2017 Ultimate Warrior Award, former Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand is an inspiration to many.
In 2010, LeGrand was paralyzed in a game against Army while making a tackle.
Since his accident, LeGrand has regained movement in his shoulders and sensation throughout his body.
Through it all, he’s been an inspiration and his dedication to rehabilitating his body is admirable.
LeGrand has a huge support system that he credits in helping him stay motivated. LeGrand appeared on last week’s episode of Scoop B Radio and discussed how he’s able to hold it together.
“Honestly it is just the people that support me and the random people that are looking up to me,” Eric LeGrand told Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson.
“I feel that it is a responsibility. How can I let all those people down? My motivation is my mom who gave up everything for me to learn how to take care of a quadriplegic. I want to get better for her so she doesn’t have to take care of her son for her whole life, you know? So she can be able to relax and do what she wants to do.”
LeGrand says he draws on inspiration from others like former Penn State Nittany Lion Adam Taliaferro who had a similar injury. “I feel like in this world we are living in today either through the grace of God or by sheer stubbornness,” said LeGrand. “We will find a cure for this. It’s just crazy how fast technology is growing and what we are doing with it now. That is my motivation and to get everyone else out of these wheelchairs as well.”
As upbeat as LeGrand is, you’d have to wonder if others with similar injuries are as upbeat as him. “It all depends on their situation,” he said. “This injury doesn’t discriminate and people come from all walks of life with this injury. You can have people that are happily married with kids or you could get somebody who is 15 years old and in high school with this injury.”
Added LeGrand:
“So everyone’s mental is different. You could get a gang member who just got shot or you could have somebody who got into a car accident. People’s mindset is different. Some people have a lot of support some people have no support. So everybody’s mental is different so you gotta have that one same thing if you want to be able to deal with this and you have to believe. You just have to [believe] that you will be alright and you will get better and if you do your part, that is the one thing I try to tell people. If you don’t believe that you are going to get better than you are not.”
