Super Bowl champ Levine comes home to J.H. Williams

Six NFL teams are not playing Sunday and the players from those teams have the opportunity to do pretty much anything they want during  the well-earned week off.
Anthony Levine, a defensive back with the Baltimore Ravens, had one thing in mind...return to the place he will always call home and give something back.
Levine, 26, spoke Thursday afternoon to around 600 J.H. Williams students. Levine, who owns two Super Bowl rings, including 2010 with the Green Bay Packers and last year’s title with the Ravens, attended the Abbeville middle school before moving to North Carolina in eighth grade.
“I want to come in and talk to the kids and give them some words of encouragement,” Levine said prior to speaking to the assembly. “This is very important to me.”
That is because Levine was once one of those kids.
“I want to inspire these kids,” Levine said. “I want them to believe that they can do it. I’m not a superstar (player) by any means. Where I am at in my life, I have made a tremendous leap. I am in a great situation right now where I can take care of my family. I want them to understand that you can do it no matter where you are from and no matter the circumstances.
“Everything that they are going through now, I went through.”
A big part of Levine’s message is that creating a successful path is not necessarily paved by athletics.
“No way,” Levine said. “My sister played sports in high school but now she is going to be a nurse. My brother is a firefighter.
“These kids don’t have to do pro in sports to be successful in life.”
Levine did stress the importance of hard work in becoming successful. There is another extremely important element to remember along the way, he told the students.
“Listen to your parents and teachers,” Levine said. “That goes a long way. And always be respectful. I still say ‘yes sir’ and ‘yes ma’am’ to people who are my age or younger.
“Without respect, you are not going anywhere.”
The same can be said about setting goals.
“I always set goals for myself of where I wanted to be,” Levine told the students. “I made goals of where I want to be tomorrow and years down the road.”
Levine encouraged the J.H. Williams students to do the same.
“I want you to set five short-term goals of what you want to do this year,” Levine said. “Then I want you to set five long-term goals.”
Levine said he has no doubt in his mind the students can accomplish each and every one of those goals.
“There are no excuses,” Levine said. “When I was in college and taking psychology (his major at Tennessee State), they would talk about people being from small towns and not knowing any better. I would say ‘whoa, I’m from a small town.’ There are no excuses. If you want to do something, you can do it.
“If you live your life by excuses, that is on you.”
J.H. Williams Principal Dana Primeaux said she appreciates Levine’s returning to the school, as well as his message.
“We are very pleased that he has chosen to come back to his school,” Primeaux said. “We are so thankful that he wants to make a difference in these kids’ lives. This means more to them than you can imagine.
“He is someone who came through these halls and made a difference in the real world.”
As part of his return, Levine had an opportunity to spend some closer time with three students. The teachers and faculty selected, based on their hard work this year, Chaquom Williams, Dasakima Narcisse and Javiah Smith.
“I’m going to take them to do some things and just spend some time with them,” Levine said. “I am these kids. We are from the same place.”
Levine simply wants to see these kids reach their goals.
“I want to inspire all of them,” Levine said. “If I could inspire just one of them, it was worth the trip.”