Page 66 of The Game Changer

Johnathan

Eight months later

“Mr. Camps,” a reporter calls out my name as I sit at a press table. I never enjoyed this as a player, but it’s something I’ve been forced to get used to the last couple of weeks, now that my project has been made public.

“Yes,” I answer, acknowledging the guy.

“What kind of response have you had from players around the league after you’ve shown them your video?”

“The response has been amazing. I think that anyone who plays professional sports wants to do it as safely as possible. No one wants to have their career taken away from them due to an injury. We put in too much time, energy, blood, sweat, and tears to get ourselves to this level to want anything other than the safest playing conditions possible. That isn’t to say that guys aren’t going to get hurt, because they are, we can’t stop every injury. But, we can stop some of them. Some of that needs to come with stricter rules put in place by the league on hits to the head, stricter punishments when those rules are broken, continued improvements in the gear, specifically the helmets that players wear to absorb the impact when you collide with the boards and glass.”

“What are your next steps with your campaign?” another reporter calls out.

“I’ll officially be starting The Camps Foundation, which will support a few important endeavors that are personal in one way or another, one being the improvement of safety gear for players.”

“And the others?” the reporter asks as a follow-up question.

“It’s no secret that my family wasn’t well off while I was a child. My mother did everything she could to make ends meet, and sometimes that meant we had to live in shelters. Since I signed my first professional contract, I’ve donated to many shelters, both here in the Indianapolis area, as well as in my hometown of St. Louis. Through the foundation, we hope to increase those donations. Any reputable shelter can go to our website and fill out an application to be on our list of supported organizations. We have a board ready to start processing applications immediately,” I tell the crowd of reporters. I look off the side of the stage, seeing my mom, sister, sister-in-law, nephew, two nieces, and Jill all standing there, proud as can be, and it hits me just how lucky I am to have all these amazing people in my corner. The last eight months haven’t been easy at times, but they’ve also been some of the best months of my life. “If anyone has any further questions, you can direct them to the foundation offices, thank you all for your time.”

I stand, making my way off the stage, and pull Jill into my arms as I hug her tightly to my body. “I love you,” I whisper into her ear for just her to hear.

“Love you, too,” she muffles into my chest. “You did amazing,” she says, looking up at me, our arms still wrapped tightly around one another.

“Uncle John!” Mason starts calling my name. I look over at him as Stephanie tries to keep him in her arms.

“You can let him go,” I tell her and he practically jumps from her arms, running for me. I let go of Jill and catch him just as he launches himself at me.

“How ya doing, buddy?” I ask.

“Good, can we go eat now?” he asks, causing everyone to laugh.

“I guess so. Were you a good boy? Did you earn yourself some ice cream for dessert?”

“Yes, I’s the bestest ever!” he exclaims.

“That’s what I like to hear,” I tell him.

“Shall we?” I turn to my family, holding out a hand for all of them to go in front of me. I slip my open hand into Jill’s, linking our fingers together. I’ve got my girlfriend on one side of me and my nephew in my other arm, and the other important people in my life in front of me. Life couldn’t get much better than this.

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