Charles Woodson encourages graduates, guarantees win over Ohio State in commencement address

“When I was born, I was born with club feet; my feet were growing inward,” Woodson said. “My mother, she noticed, took me to the doctor, and that was the diagnosis. The doctor let us know as long as we take care of it now, it won’t be a problem. We caught it early, so he’ll be fine. But I had to wear these corrective shoes that had my feet fixed outward, and there was a bar in between those two shoes, so you can imagine, I couldn’t move around very well.

“So my brother tells me that when we’d be at home, him and my sister running around, playing, I’d be sitting there, crying, because I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t join them. So what he would do is he would begin to come, grab me and he would drag me around the house, just to be around my brother and my sister. But I was always crying, always fussing …

“That continued for some time, and he said one day, when he came to grab me, he saw a smile on my face. So I’m thinking, in my tiny little brain, I had to think to myself, you know what: my brother is actually helping me. It’s not about me not being able to get up and move around by myself, I have somebody here that is willing to help me get where I need to go. Just imagine for my brother, who was grabbing me all of these times and I’m crying and fussing; it’s a hassle. But now he has someone that’s willing to help him help me.

“I feel like for you guys, going forward in your life, you’re going to be one of those two people: you’re going to be that child that’s sitting there crying, mad about not being able to do something or wanting to do something and figuring that you need to do it by yourself but you’re not able to do it; you need a helping hand.

“And then you’re going to be that older brother, who’s going to continue to reach down and try to reach out to you and try to help, and then finally one day you’re going to reach down and you’re going to see that smile, and it’s going to be a feeling like you’ll never forget, the fact that you’ve been able to help someone get on their feet.”

“When you look around, I just want you to simply see human beings. Nothing more, nothing less. And I guarantee you, if you can begin to see people that way, just as human beings, you’ll begin to see them a little bit different … “

“So today, I’m asking you, I’m begging you, do not carry the hate forward. My wife is begging you, don’t carry the hate forward. My two boys who have to grow up in this world are begging you, don’t carry the hate forward. But carry forward that spirit of helping others.”