Widely considered to be one of the best linebackers of all time, Ray Lewis is currently in his 17th season in the NFL. The future Hall of Famer has played his entire career with the Baltimore Ravens, during which time he became a Super Bowl MVP, a 13-time NFL Pro Bowl selection and Associated Press All-Pro ten times and NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice. He was also named to the NFL All-Decade (2000s) team, chosen every 10 years by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. His dedication to his team and his passion for playing defense has given him amazing longevity. He's actually gotten faster and better with age. Ray's accomplishments on the field are even more extraordinary considering his personal story. He grew up in deep poverty in Florida, the product of a teenage mother and a father who immediately exited the picture. He bounced around homes as his mother tried to keep her head above water. He eventually found his center in sports. Little known to most football fans, he focused with great intensity on his high school wrestling career, the same high school where his biological father owned every wrestling record. Ray was determined to wipe his father's name from those record books, and did just that. After Ray landed at the University of Miami, he seemed uniquely positioned to smoothly skate his way to the Hall of Fame career we've all witnessed. But remarkable challenges have faced him at every juncture, both very public and very private. Challenges he bravely faced and conquered. Ray has built a strong reputation on and off the field as a leader who cares enough to get things done. Dedicated, focused and committed to excellence, Ray has put those values into action with The Ray Lewis Family Foundation, which is committed to enhancing the lives of today's at risk youth. Ray has also become as famous for his speeches as he has for his athletic ability. These spontaneous fire-and-brimstone epics, which call to mind the classic speeches of Rockne and Lombardi, have become the stuff of legend. Ever since a few of his booming pep talks to his Baltimore Ravens teammates ended up on the Internet, he's become widely regarded as one of the best orators in sports. From Fortune 500 companies to teenagers to Navy SEALs or a bunch of American football players from England, he says the key to breaking through is finding a way to relate to the audience and just having a conversation." As Ray mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article about his prolific speaking career, "Everyone acts pretty much the same. It's encouragement one way or another," Lewis said. "It's just in what arena, in the business arena sometimes they don't go through a physical part but they have to dial in mentally and that is what the CEOs are looking at for me to share with their guys." According to Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, who's used Lewis to fire up his sales force, "He's able to bring stuff from the football field and apply it to everything." Never canned, always entertaining and inspirational, Lewis brings his message with unprecedented candor and special attention to what makes a winner tick."
