London NFLers turn cleats into canvas of support for national youth charity | CBC News

Two London-born professional footballers are using a long-running NFL initiative to show support for a national youth charity.

It comes as part of the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats initiative, in which players don custom-designed footwear for the season’s 13th and 14th weeks to advocate causes meaningful to them. Players can then auction the cleats off in support of the organizations they’re championing.

London artist Briony Douglas partnered up with London-born brothers Chase and Sydney Brown for the campaign after being contacted by NFL Canada.

Chase, a running back for the Cincinnati Bengals, and Sydney, a safety for the Philadelphia Eagles, laced up in support of Kids Help Phone, the nationwide charity that operates a 24-7 crisis line for youth in distress.

Chase also wore a second set of cleats, not designed by Douglas, in support of Eagles Autism Foundation.

Speaking with CBC Radio’s London Morning on Wednesday, Douglas said she worked with the pair on the Kids Help Phone design.

“I did a little research on the guys, and a little bit more on the charity, and then came back with an idea. They all said yes, and then I started painting away,” she said.

“On one cleat, there’s a teddy bear, which I thought was the universal sign for children, and then on the other is ‘686868,’ which is the number kids can text when they’re in a time of crisis,” she added.

“There is a little London logo on there, because I thought it was important to pay tribute to where they came from.”

Douglas said she and her fiancé travelled to Philadelphia over the weekend to watch the Eagles play and present Sydney with the cleats.

“Within moments, it’s so obvious that they’re such good people, and he’s such a good human,” she said.

“It’s refreshing in a world of, maybe not always refreshing things, to see good people experiencing good things.”

Windsor-raised Theo Johnson, a tight-end for the New York Giants, also took part in the initiative to support My Sisters’ Place.

The New York-based organization shares the name of, but is not connected to, a London facility which provides drop-in and wrap-around services for vulnerable women.