Retired NFL Safety, CEO and Trailblazer Gerome Sapp
Enduring resilience and an open-minded approach
are the keys to his success
Growing up in inner-city Houston, there were times when Gerome Sapp and his siblings had to cope without water or electricity. Other children in those circumstances might develop an embittered view, but for Gerome, it was formative to his remarkably positive outlook. From the experience he learned two important lessons modeled by his mother, Angelia, who always blended the ideal and the practical. “First of all, she would tell us that tomorrow would probably be better,” Gerome recalls. “And second, that it would be a good idea to do our homework early instead of putting it off.”
“We didn’t always have what we wanted, but we always had what we needed,” Gerome says. “My mother loved each of us unconditionally. We were Southern Baptists and went to church most Sundays, but more importantly, my mom stressed having your own relationship with God and knowing that you can depend on Him no matter what is going on in your life.”
Because their father was generally absent, his mother signed up her two sons – Gerome and his brother Charles, just one year older -- in the Big Brother program. To 7-year-old Gerome, Big Brother Todd Freeman was a godsend. “He opened me up to a whole other side of life that I hadn’t seen,” Gerome says. The two stayed close; Todd attended Gerome’s college football games and his first pro game, and Gerome was in Todd’s wedding party. “He was the first consistent male figure in my life,” Gerome comments.
In high school, Gerome connected with the second major father figure of his youth: his football coach, Lee Malowitz. The players generally considered Coach Malowitz to be tough and not always kind, but Gerome and his brother got to know the coach on a deeper level. “He realized that me and my brother weren’t just the average teenage black males. And we realized that even though a lot of people thought Coach Malowitz hated them, he was hard on us because he didn’t want to see us mess up.”
Both brothers became high school football stars. In his junior year, Gerome was Parade and USA Today First Team All-American. The following year, he was ranked the number one player in Texas. College recruiters were watching, and Coach Malowitz urged the young man to take his academic requirements seriously. Along with studying hard, Gerome and his best friend maintained a commitment to clean living, using each other’s example to avoid the drugs and alcohol in which many of their classmates indulged.
At Malowitz’s urging, Gerome kept his grades up and listened to the college coaches who wanted to sign him. He eventually chose Notre Dame, in part because of its academic reputation and in part because of his mother’s insistence that he use college to explore a different environment from his home state of Texas.
The four years at Notre Dame were fundamental to shaping not only Gerome’s football career but his adult personality as well. “A lot of guys I knew who went off to college couldn’t handle the mental burden. You’re no longer the big shot anymore. So you have to learn how to play a role of a lesser athlete, not what you were in high school. I was able to handle that though.”
His classmates incorrectly stereotyped him based on his color and southern origins, but rather than get angry, Gerome set about proving them wrong by working hard and demonstrating his intellect. To this day, he values the lessons that his social interactions at Notre Dame taught him. “Looking back on it,” he now says, “the most important thing I learned at Notre Dame was how to get along with people in different social environments.”
Entering the NFL was another culture shock. “When you make that kind of money and have that kind of free time, you can get into a lot of different kinds of trouble. But I had my head on my shoulders, so I never was in danger of going off the deep end the way some guys did. Only 5% of the guys in the NFL make the kind of money where you never have to worry about working again. If you’re in the other 95%, you have to save your money and know what you’re going to do when your football career is over.”
As for Gerome, after five years in the NFL – playing safety for both or the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts – his priorities lie elsewhere– with his wife, Tracy, and their children.
Gerome is passionate member of the non-profit organization Merging Vets and Players (MVP) https://vetsandplayers.org/.
As stated on the MVP website, “MVP was founded in 2015 by Fox Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer and former Green Beret and Seattle Seahawk Nate Boyer
They address challenges that combat veterans and former professional athletes face in transition once the uniform comes off.
MVP empowers combat veterans and former professional athletes by connecting them after the uniform comes off; providing them with a new team to assist with transition, promote personal development, and show them they are never alone.”
Gerome is an active member of MVP. He enjoys mentoring and being mentored by combat veterans and retired professional athletes. They focus on supporting a transition out of uniform into civilian life.
In addition, Gerome is the Founder and CEO of Rares https://rares.io/. He created an App where sneaker enthusiasts can move beyond buying Collectibles to making money investing in them.
Rares is an alternative asset investment platform that allows consumers to invest in fractional shares of ultra-rare, vintage, and collectible assets where they can learn, buy, sell, trade, and engage.
The average person can invest in high-end sneakers for a little as $25. Gerome says, “Rares can make it possible for people to get into investing for lower amounts of money.
It is important to Gerome that young followers understand how many different facets make up one man’s personality. “I always tell kids not to just look at me as an NFL guy,” he says. “To understand who I am, you have to see everything leading up to this point and everything I’ve gone through. That’s the most important thing, to have a perspective when you’re looking at something.”
Instant replay of Gerome’s guiding principles:
Nourish family relationships with love, care and loyalty.
Develop a relationship with God based on the understanding that God is always there to sustain you.
Use other people’s differences as a learning opportunity. Find out why they see things the way they do.
Don’t take ignorant comments or reactions to heart. Be able to let judgments slide off of you.
Don’t judge others, and don’t judge yourself too harshly either.
Find friends who are good role models and who exhibit values you want to emulate.
Stay on the straight-and-narrow, avoiding drugs, alcohol and misbehavior.
Study hard and persist academically so that you have the greatest range of options in life.
When times are tough, remember that “this too shall pass” and easier days likely lie ahead.
Know your own beliefs and values. Don’t just accept what you are told or taught; think critically about why you believe what you do.
Appreciate the many gifts you have been given.
©2011 and 2022 Insightful Player, LLC
The Insightful Player® is brought to you by Coach Chrissy Carew, Hall-of-Fame Master Certified and Board-Certified Transformational Coach and the published author of Insightful Player: football pros lead a bold movement of hope. Chrissy has been deeply inspired by her father, the late Coach Walter Carew, Sr. Her beloved father is in several Halls of Fame as a high school football coach (as well as high school and college player). He used the game to help kids build strong character and teach them valuable life skills. Insightful Player® was created to transform culture to be inclusive, kinder, and more loving.
Chrissy Carew contact information:
Landline: 603-897-0610
Mobile: 603-321-1862
Gerome Sapp is a valued member of the Insightful Player® team. To be named to this team, one must be a person of integrity, such as a current or former NFL player, who shares their personal message of hope for the sole purpose of lifting the spirits of all, especially children.
Gerome Sapp with The Total Tutor
– Powered by The Insightful Player Click HERE to listen to an interview with Gerome Sapp. Or copy & paste this into your web browser: http://5a5bfd1e9de31d22e342-8cf8ad7127dc6cf7079675e2131509c3.r7.cf1.rackcdn.com/gerome-sapp.mp3