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Chris Draft, former St. Louis Rams Linebacker may no longer play football, or reside in the City of St. Louis at present, but his continued involvement throughout the city makes is very evident that the St. Louis/Illinois communities are, and always will be, at the very forefront of his mind.  With that being the case, one of Draft’s biggest concerns is the inner-city youth and making sure they understand the importance of making positive choices; which is why he made it his priority to speak with some of the students, particularly the football players, of Belleville West High School.

In September, after a video-taped attack of a student on one of Belleville’s school buses aired throughout the city, it could not help but leave a very negative perception on the school district as a whole; in fact, anyone who viewed it was more than likely left with a bad taste in their mouth regarding Belleville West; but when Draft saw the video, his immediate reaction was to get a message out to the entire student body on anti-bullying.  His goal in doing so was to urge the remainder of the students, or any others, to rise above any negativity about Belleville, as well as to continue to take pride in their school. 

Draft told local reporters, “I go talk to a lot of different groups all over St. Louis and one of the things I’ve been committed to doing is making sure when negative things happen that we are able to really find a (positive) way through it rather that just focusing on the negative.”

However, Draft’s plea does not only go out to the student body of the school district, but also to parents, faculty, and the community overall.  Chris’ theory reminds one of the old saying, it takes a village to raise a child.

“With all the recent crime in both Illinois and St. Louis involving the youth within these communities, I am dedicated to doing whatever I can to help provide a positive and safe environment for them,” Draft said. “It takes more than myself, or just one or two people; if we can all give of our time and energy, even if it’s as simple as offering to tutor a child at least once a month, or getting out and picking up trash in our neighborhoods, it would be a major start in providing a more safe, positive and productive environment for everyone.”