By Jessica Sierocki, photo editor.
Former football player and current motivational speaker, Inky Johnson, spoke at Delta College about how he overcame obstacles he faced as a result of his sports injury.
“I wouldn’t change my injury even if I could,” says Inky Johnson, motivational speaker and former University of Tennessee football player.
A routine tackle at a college football game in 2006 turned into a life-threatening injury for Johnson, shattering any prospects of him playing in the NFL. He visited Delta College on Oct. 27 to speak about his injury and how he overcame adversity.
“I got cut six times down my left eye, one time across the left side of my neck, one time across the right side of my neck, twice around my right ribs. They cut out my right pec, they cut me from the bottom of my armpit down to the bottom of my hand. They put 350 staples in my body. When they gut you like a fish, you feel it,” says Johnson.
During his presentation, Johnson got the audience involved by making them think about their life accomplishments. “This is what I’ve learned about life. I would say that more than 60 percent of people don’t get up and do the thing that they really want to do. They settle for what they think they can do but don’t have the courage to do the thing deep down inside them,” says Johnson.
Most of Johnson’s speech included stories of his childhood, growing up, and beating the odds by not only graduating high school, but receiving an athletic scholarship as well. Johnson always pushed himself, even moreso after he was injured.
“When my injury happened, it forced me out of my comfort zone and I was placed in a position where now my true character, what I was really about, I had no choice but to show up. When adversity comes, that is when you see a person’s true character. The only talent I’ve ever had was my character,” says Johnson.
Student Jeanine Brownlie attended the event and was moved by Johnson’s words. “Inky Johnson made me realize that life exists outside of my personal bubble. He made me realize that my life wasn’t that bad,” says Brownlie.
Johnson talked about his work with the homeless and how it benefitted his teammates and mentees from his neighborhood in Atlanta.
“I don’t do what I do to talk. I do what I do because I know there are people in this world who are struggling and when they see me I represent something to them, something clicks inside of their minds because they know about the level of life that I live every single day,” says Johnson.
Johnson is proud of how his injury changes the outlook of others around him. “Every single day I’m witnessed as an honor badge. Every single day when somebody sees me I know they think “perseverance.” I know when they see me they think “never giving up,” says Johnson.
Some of Johnson’s final words brought home his message of the true importance of having character above any other personal trait. “When that doctor comes to sit on the edge of that bed and says you’re going to be in this hospital for the next 40 to 60 days and you walk out on the third day, that’s not talent. That’s character,” says Johnson.