Fresh off winning his seventh Super Bowl, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is lending support to a new resiliency initiative for Florida students launched by First Lady Casey DeSantis.
At the end of last week, DeSantis announced the launch of a resiliency initiative for Florida schools to emphasize key character development skills including volunteerism, teamwork and problem-solving.
“Given the lessons I’ve learned traveling the state, we are changing the message on mental health and reframing it to resiliency and hope,” said First Lady DeSantis. “We want to empower our youth with the tools and the skillsets to be resilient by learning how to persevere through life’s challenges. We know no one is immune from adversity and hardship. It’s not whether you’ll have challenges in life but it’s about how you respond and persevere.”
This week, Brady released a web video in which he backs DeSantis’ initiative.
Professional sports teams, organizations and athletes from across the state are supporting this initiative including the Orlando Magic, Orlando City SC, Orlando Pride, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Inter Miami CF, the Miami Heat, the Miami Dolphins, the Miami Marlins, the Florida Panthers, NASCAR and the LPGA.
In addition to Tom Brady, other athletes and coaches endorsing the initiative include David Beckham, Peyton Manning, Lou Holtz, Tony Dungy, Urban Meyer, Crystal Thomas, Ali Marpet, Bryant McFadden, Mark Richt, Twan Russell, Corey Simon, Tra Thomas, Jonathan Vilma, Jonathan Isaac, Charlie Ward, Tyler Johnson, Joey Logano, Brandon Lowe and Chris Mueller.