EWING, N.J. — Nearly 2,500 athletes graced Lions’ Stadium at The College of New Jersey on June 10 for the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics in the Garden State, but one person had the ability to silence them all.
Paralyzed Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand delivered a welcome speech in one of his first public appearances, and finished with a standing ovation from both athletes and onlookers.
“It’s great,” said sophomore quarterback Chas Dodd, one of a host of Scarlet Knights on hand at TCNJ. “The public knows who he is and it’s great for him to get out here and speak and do the things that he’s doing … maybe give some other people some hope with his situation. It’s just a great situation all around.”
Donning his No. 52 Rutgers jersey, LeGrand recounted his perseverance after fracturing his spinal cord at the C3-C4 level on an Oct. 16 tackle against Army.
“When I first got hurt, I had to use the same mental toughness in football and shift it into rehab,” LeGrand said.
LeGrand’s speech kicked off the Special Olympics’ 2011 Summer Games, which lasted through the June 11.
Several teammates made the short trek south to support the Avenel, N.J., native and served as honorable guests to each county’s contingency of athletes.
“I love coming to these kinds of events because you get to see familiar faces but new faces,” said junior wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. “You just love seeing the people and the smiles on their faces. It brightens up their day and it brightens up mine.”
Sanu, senior offensive lineman Desmond Stapleton and sophomore linebacker David Milewski each entered the turf field with LeGrand for his introduction.
“It’s definitely fun because it’s an experience for all of us to see these types of athletes,” Sanu said. “They work as hard as they can to the best of their ability, and we’re doing the same. I appreciate what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.”
The sum of athletes’ cries of excitement fell to a hush after the event’s host introduced LeGrand.
“It’s a true blessing from God why I’m out here,” LeGrand said. “No matter what happens, you’re a godsend.”
Since serving as the keynote speaker in Ewing, LeGrand said he is slowly making progress with movement in his right arm and can stand up to 40 minutes with the help of a trainer.
LeGrand met U.S. Women’s National Team star Alex Morgan at a Women’s Professional Soccer game at Yurcak Field and spoke with rapper Lil’ Wayne during his summer concert tour.
He even visited the New York Jets training camp in Florham Park, N.J., speaking with the media and head coach Rex Ryan, among others.
LeGrand spent the day at ESPN’s headquarters on Aug. 5 in Bristol, Conn., where he served as a co-host of Outside The Lines and chatted with SportsCenter anchors.
LeGrand plans to be back at Rutgers for the fall semester, where he will take classes toward graduation and likely fill a support role with his teammates in Piscataway.
One Knight could not be more excited.
“It’s very important,” Dodd said. “He’s a great guy and he’s done a lot of things for the team. To have him back in there where people get to talk to him and see him is a great thing, and it’s really going to help us out.”
But beside returning to Rutgers and reuniting with his teammates, LeGrand has bigger aspirations on the horizon.
“I beat all the odds except walking,” he said. “I know that day will come soon.”