Nolan Harrison III is a respected leader who is the Senior Director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) Former Players Services. The NFLPA provides resources and guidance in career transition, community service, chapter leadership, and retirement benefits.
Nolan is a former defensive end and defensive tackle who was drafted in the sixth round of the 1991 NFL draft. He played 10 seasons in the NFL for the LA Oakland Raiders, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins. Nolan served as an NFL Players Association player representative and as an Executive Committee member during his ten-year playing career. Toward the end of his career, Harrison spearheaded the successful effort to ban a career threatening practice called “chop blocking” in the NFL.
Nolan is a very kindhearted and inspiring role model who is committed to living a values based life. He is a courageous leader who wholeheartedly stands up for what he believes regardless of its’ popularity. As a young boy, Nolan was inspired by the qualities of his childhood heroes. These qualities empowered Nolan to become a caring and passionate advocate for the underdog.
As a child, Nolan was picked on for being a small and skinny kid. He dreamed of playing college athletics and worked very hard to prove all the negativity wrong. The ridicule fueled him to work harder and to become stronger. When things got tough, Nolan drew inner strength from his childhood heroes.
Being an advocate for the underdog is at Nolan’s core. This leadership quality became evident when he accepted a job as the “bodyguard” of a high school classmate who was being bullied. And when Nolan was in college, he took a stand where some might look the other way. He stopped a sexual assault against a female student on his college campus.
Nolan is a powerful public speaker who delivers compelling presentations on a multitude of heart centered leadership topics. Nolan also is blogging for AARP on volunteerism and for Pro Player Insiders through his column “Second Thoughts.”
Nolan gave a moving TEDx Talk on heroism at Indiana University. His talk was titled, “Childhood Dreams of Heroes, My long and Winding Road”. He discussed how his core values and views on heroism shaped his experiences from childhood, through college, and far into adulthood.
Nolan’s heroes have a core set of values that no trial or tribulation could ever break down, and he inspires exactly that type of heroism in others through his work with the NFL players themselves and the NFL Players’ Association.
Here’s to modern day heroes.
Until next time, Chrissy Carew
Founder and Head Coach, Insightful Player, LLC To Follow me on Twitter, go to http://Twitter.com/InsightfulPlayr