Apparently DeAngelo Williams believes all awards should be earned — not bestowed for simply showing up.
The Pittsburgh Steelers running back demonstrated as much recently, after his young daughter was given a participation ribbon at a field day event.
On Thursday, the NFL Pro Bowler posted a photo of the smiling girl, with three ribbons — one for first place, two for third place — pinned to her T-shirt.
“I took her Field Day participation ribbon & gave it back to her teacher….then in the next event she got 1st place,” reads the tweet.
Rhiya, Williams’s oldest daughter, was born in 2011, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The running back and his teammate, James Harrison, seem to be like-minded when it comes to laurels.
When Harrison’s two sons were given participation trophies for athletics last summer, the linebacker also took to social media.
“I’m not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best,” the two-time Super Bowl champion wrote on Instagram, adding, “(because) sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to do better…not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy.”
The statement ends with the hashtag “#harrisonfamilyvalues.”
“It’s been in Ohio as early as the mid-1850s at least, brought in as an ornamental plant because of its unique foliage and white flowers,” Gardner said. “It was actually planted in people’s landscaping, and it has been spreading.”
The post quickly went viral, generating more than 900 comments in less than 24 hours. Many were supportive.
“Thank you for speaking up and out. This is an epidemic,” wrote one commenter. Another thanked Harrison for “not encouraging entitlement and mediocrity.”