McKinney making good on promise

CJ grad, now in the NFL, always told himself he would give back to the community if he made it.

High school sports results for May 26
5/26/12
Wayne boys win team track title
5/25/12
Bellbrook tennis duo advances to semifinals
5/25/12
Jefferson grad takes lessons from Miami Heat cousin
5/25/12
T-Bolts excited for state debut
5/25/12
> More high school headlines

By Greg Billing, Staff Writer 11:06 PM Friday, February 4, 2011

DAYTON — At 6-foot-2 and 350 pounds, Brandon McKinney’s job is to crush quarterbacks and ride roughshod over running backs.

His true talent, though, was on display at Children’s Medical Center of Dayton on Wednesday. McKinney — a fifth-year defensive tackle with the Baltimore Ravens and 2001 graduate of Chaminade Julienne High School — used his easygoing personality to connect with young patients as part of his BJ Kids 91 Foundation. It’s one of McKinney’s many community service projects, which also include free haircuts and supplies for the first day of school, tutoring help and football camps.

“It’s a good thing to see when your children are successful and they want to give back,” said Brandon’s father, Timothy McKinney, who along with Brandon’s stepmother Tawana McKinney accompanied him at the hospital. “That makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you did something right.”

McKinney visited with patients in the Children’s Hematology and Oncology department and did one-on-one room visits throughout the hospital, handing out autographed T-shirts and posters.

“It’s something I always told myself, that if I have the opportunity (to give back) I will,” McKinney said.

“My dad taught me how to be a man, how to live right and take care of myself, to do the right thing.”

There’s one time, however, McKinney won’t mind being wrong — his pick for the Super Bowl.

“I’d like for the Packers to win, but in reality I think the Steelers will win,” McKinney said of the Ravens’ AFC North Division rivals. “I’m not rooting for them, but I think the Steelers will win.”

Share this article