Browns players support charitable initiatives through NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign (12.3.20)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 3, 2020

BEREA, Ohio – As part of the ongoing efforts of the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign, more than 30 Browns players will share a powerful source of faith, inspiration and cognizance through custom footwear choices with signature meanings to each. Participating Browns players will have the opportunity to wear their cleats this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans during pregame or throughout the game.

The My Cause, My Cleats campaign, which was created by the NFL in 2016, is a collaboration between the league and players that allows players to exhibit their passion beyond the game by linking with artists for compelling artwork to tell compelling stories with their footwear. A record of more than 1,000 players around the NFL plan to showcase their art and represent their respective philanthropic organizations, passions and movements through unique designs and creativity in stadiums across the league. Players will have the option to raise funds for the cause of their choice by auctioning off their cleats at NFL Auction with the proceeds flowing directly to their identified charities.

In addition to Browns players, Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio), Executive Vice President/Partner J.W. Johnson (Digital C and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital) and Browns alumnus Joe Thomas (Cleveland Browns Foundation’s Stay in the Game, Keep Learning, Every Day! Network) will be joining the movement by supporting local organizations in Week 13.

Browns players participating in My Cause, My Cleats:

Player	Cause/Charity	Notes
LB Tae Davis	Sickle cell disease; University Hospitals	One in 12 people carries the SCA gene, a prominent condition in the African-American community. Davis has the sickle cell trait and wants to educate others on what the disease entails, along with the pain it causes. https://www.uhhospitals.org/
G Michael Dunn	Breast cancer awareness; American Cancer Society	Dunn will be donating his cleats to Johns Hopkins Kimmel Breast Cancer Center. The American Cancer Society, a Browns Give Back First and Ten community partner, is dedicated helping those who face cancer with treatment and education. https://www.cancer.org/
DE Myles Garrett	Social justice and youth education; Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation	Dr. Maya Angelou was a poignant poet with a mission to support educational excellence and healthcare equity for all. She created the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation in 2011 to help serve and honor the life and legacy of the world-known poet, incredible author and civil rights leader. http://www.drmayaangeloufoundation.org/about.html
CB A.J. Green	Jessie Joy Rees Foundation (NEGU)	The Jessie Joy Rees Foundation encourages families to “Never Ever Give Up” by bringing joy, opportunities to smile and encouragement to kids battling cancer so that they never let up on their dreams or endeavors. https://negu.org/
S Ronnie Harrison Jr.	Social justice; National Urban League	Harrison is supporting the National Urban League to continue the dialogue around social inequality in the country. https://nul.org/
WR Rashard Higgins	Providence House	Providence House protects at-risk children, supports families through crisis connecting them to resources and strengthens the communities by advocating for underserved families and demonstrating the lasting impact of prevention. https://www.provhouse.org/
TE Austin Hooper	Children in foster care; OhioGuidestone; The Austin Hooper Foundation	Hooper has been supporting OhioGuidestone this season through his foundation, “The Austin Hooper Foundation” to help support foster care families during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing children with an opportunity to find their mission and a career to be productive members of society. https://ohioguidestone.org/; https://www.theaustinhooperfoundation.org/
T Chris Hubbard	National Urban League/NAMI	Hubbard is a strong advocate for mental health resources and awareness, particularly after going public with his decision to seek therapy as he and his wife Tamara battled infertility issues before conceiving their son, Creed. He serves as the Ambassador of The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization, dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Also, Hubbard will support the National Urban League to shed light on social and racial injustice issues in the country. https://nul.org/; https://www.nami.org/Home
LS Charley Hughlett	American Diabetes Association	Hughlett’s father, Jim, has been battling diabetes for the past 25 years. https://www.diabetes.org/
RB Kareem Hunt	STOMP Out Bullying	STOMP Out Bullying is the leading national anti-bullying and cyberbullying organization for kids and teens in the U.S. with the focus on bringing awareness and education to children, teens, parents, and schools to help minimize bullying through kindness, empathy and acceptance of others. https://www.stompoutbullying.org/
FB Andy Janovich	Military appreciation; Hunting with Soldiers	Throughout Janovich’s entire NFL career, he has proactively shown appreciation by honoring members of the armed forces. Hunting with Soldiers was created in 2007 with the mission of getting Combat Veterans into the outdoors to give them the healing from PTSD that nature can help provide by offering them the opportunity to go hunting and fishing at no cost to them. Additionally, Janovich was named the Browns Salute to Service honoree earlier this season for his efforts. https://www.huntingwithsoldiers.org/
RB D’Ernest Johnson	Ocean Conservancy	When trying to find a roster spot in the league, Johnson spent time with a friend working on a fishing boat in Key West, and that experience opened his eyes to the climate crisis and other issues affecting oceans. Oceanconservancy.org
S Karl Joseph	Breast cancer awareness; American Cancer Society	Joseph has consistently supported breast cancer awareness and wants to continue to make an impact by being an advocate in the space. https://www.cancer.org/
QB Case Keenum	Fellowship of Christian Athletes	Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a significant part of Keenum’s story as many athletes before him served as role models in his life. He credits the influence of those FCA athletes as helping him become who he is and reach where he is today. https://www.fca.org/
T Kendall Lamm	Cancer awareness; American Cancer Society	Lamm’s grandmother, Susan, served as his primary caregiver most of his life and battles breast cancer. The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives and leading the fight for a world without cancer. https://www.cancer.org/
WR Jarvis Landry	Cystic Fibrosis; Jarvis Landry Building Winners Foundation	One of Landry’s close high school friends had CF (NFL.com feature), resulting in Landry closely seeing and understanding the effects of the disease. The Jarvis Landry Building Winners Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to positively impacting the lives of children and families facing socioeconomic disparities and/or chronic health conditions, including CF. https://iamjarvislandry.com/the-foundation
QB Baker Mayfield	Special Olympics	The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community. https://www.specialolympics.org/
LB Montrel Meander	Systemic racism; Mac10 Project/ G.O.T.C.H.A. Girls	G.O.T.C.H.A. (Girls of Truth Christ Honor & Acceptance) seeks to ensure that young girls understand their value and worth in Jesus Christ. Their work is aimed at providing a mentoring approach to build confidence and self-esteem by the women before them. The Mac10 Project targets single parent homes to support during the holidays. https://gotcha79107.wixsite.com/ama806
S Jovante Moffatt	Adoption; Save the Children	Moffatt feels it is important to help youth find a stable home. As the world leader in protecting children from the physical and emotional wounds of war, Save the Children has been a lifeline for families fleeing violence in Syria, Venezuela, Myanmar and dozens of other crises around the world. https://www.savethechildren.org/
DT Larry Ogunjobi	Childhood obesity; American Heart Association	Prior to starting his football career in high school, Ogunjobi personally struggled with his weight and ultimately lost more than 100 pounds. To promote youth health and wellness, he has teamed up with the American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones	Sickle cell anemia; American Red Cross	The American Red Cross supports one of the most critical sickle cell treatments, which is blood transfusions. Sickle cell causes serious complications that includes severe pain, respiratory conditions, organ failure and even stroke. https://www.redcrossblood.org/
S Sheldrick Redwine	Mental health; The Gloria Redwine Foundation	The Gloria Redwine Foundation, named after his late grandmother, was created prior to the season to commit off-field passion for giving inner-city youth options in life as a tribute to his grandmother and her selfless heart.
LB Malcolm Smith	Social justice; Color of Change Foundation	The Color of Change Foundation was brought to Smith’s attention through a high school friend who works within the organization. He wants to raise awareness for the organization and its great service as a safe zone and voice for black people who might feel unprotected in America. https://colorofchange.org/
CB M.J. Stewart Jr.	Epilepsy awareness; Epilepsy Foundation	The Epilepsy Foundation aims to lead the fight to overcome the challenges of living with epilepsy and to accelerate therapies to stop seizures, find cures and save lives. https://www.epilepsy.com/
FB Johnny Stanton	Pediatric cancer care; Jessie Joy Rees Foundation (NEGU)	Stanton currently serves as a “Never Ever Give Up” NEGU Ambassador. Their mission is to bring joy, opportunities to smile and encouragement to kids battling cancer so that they never let up on their dreams or endeavors. https://negu.org/
LB Sione Takitaki	Cancer awareness; The Littlest Heroes	Takitaki’s father, Vaimaua, passed away from adeno carcinoma and metastasis forms of cancer. http://thelittlestheroes.org/
WR Taywan Taylor	Social justice; Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio	After battling social inequalities, Taylor chose to support The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio as he is committed to serving those in need during this time in Cleveland and to inspire youth that anything is possible. http://www.diversitycenterneo.org/
G Wyatt Teller	The Lindy Infante Foundation	The Lindy Infante Foundation provides access to sports for children in need. https://lindyinfantefoundation.org/
CB Tavierre Thomas	Prostate cancer; American Cancer Society	Thomas’ brother, Steven Brown, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. https://www.cancer.org/
DE Olivier Vernon	Coats disease; Jack McGovern Coats Disease Foundation	Vernon’s godson, Jeremiah, was two years old when one of his eyes started to reflect yellow, which resulted in a rush to the emergency room. They later discovered he had the rare Coats disease, which required multiple surgeries. While there is no cure for the disease, the Jack McGovern Coats Disease Foundation is raising funds for research and to give hope to kids like Jeremiah as they cope with their condition. https://coatsdiseasefoundation.org/
CB Denzel Ward	Heart health; Make Them Know Your Name Foundation	Ward’s father, Paul G. Ward Jr., passed away due to cardiac arrest that ultimately could have been prevented with earlier detection and intervention. “Make Them Know Your Name,” founded by Ward, is a mantra for Ward both on and off the field, inspired by his father. MTKYN.ORG/
LB Mack Wilson	Autism awareness; Kulture City	Wilson is close friends with Caleb Collins, who is impacted by autism. Caleb, for whom Wilson also serves as a godfather, is the little brother of one of his best friend’s. https://www.kulturecity.org/

For more information on the My Cause, My Cleats campaign, visit www.nfl.com/mycausemycleats.

Media resources:

Photos of select Browns players’ cleats will be available upon request through Rob McBurnett (RMcBurnett@ClevelandBrowns.com, 440-824-6175).

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