When the Cowboys take on the Bengals Monday night at AT&T Stadium, there’s a good chance you will see a handful of plays where the two teams are getting feisty, possibly pushing and shoving after the whistle if not a full-fledged fight that breaks out.
If and when that happens, there’s a better than decent chance Brock Hoffman will be in the middle of it.
The Cowboys starting right guard, who is now taking over for Zack Martin, isn’t afraid to mix it up and he’s certainly not afraid of a challenge.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Hoffman isn’t just a big boxing fan, but has teamed up with a local trainer to honor for Monday’s game in the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats” initiative.
Hoffman’s cause will be to help the Derrick James Family Foundation.
Hoffman has formed a friendship with Derrick James, a local boxing trainer in the Dallas area, who has trained many talented boxers, including Ryan Garcia.
Last year, Hoffman went to watch Garcia train and that’s where he first connected with James, and learned about Derrick, not only as a trainer, but his mission to give back to the community, especially with underprivileged kids.
“Honestly, just meeting Derek and then seeing his foundation … I really loved what he was doing,” Hoffman said. “Really it’s about giving back to, I guess you would say underdeveloped or under lower income areas, especially around the Dallas area, more specifically in Oak Cliff. He does a lot of things, really just investing in the youth in terms of education, giving kids that, school supplies that they may not be able to get and whatnot. And honestly, that was really where the connection stood for me.”
Hoffman said his mother was a school teacher and that helped him stay on the right path when some of his friends didn’t have the same opportunities.
“I always felt like I’ve seen a lot of buddies I’ve grown up with kind of fall off the wrong track,” Hoffman said. “They finish school and they don’t go off to college. So it’s really just about giving everybody as equal of opportunity as we can to achieve their dreams.”
Hoffman said he wanted to honor Derrick James and his foundation not only because he shares the vision, but also to spotlight local difference-makers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
And so what Hoffman alerted his friend what would happen with Hoffman wearing the Derrick-James-custom cleats Monday night, how did that reaction go?
“He was pumped. I think he was a little caught off guard,” Hoffman said. “He was super pumped and we’re going to do some other cool stuff. I’m going to go down there and shoot some content and do different things to keep bringing awareness to his foundation.”
Hoffman said he will wear the cleats during pre-game Monday night, but then go back to his regular game-day cleats, which will be taped over anyway.
“Yeah, I don’t really wear new shoes in the game and plus the tape would cover it up anyway.”
And make no mistake, this is an infinitive Hoffman wants to be seen and heard by everyone.
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