He was a UGA star and Super Bowl winner. But Malcolm Mitchell says literacy is his greatest victory

Caption

Author and former NFL and University of Georgia football player Malcolm Mitchell

TRANSCRIPT

Orlando Montoya: Many Georgia pre-K programs this week will welcome political leaders and local celebrities to read to children as part of Georgia Pre-K Week, a celebration of the state's pre-K program. One of those celebrities is Georgia resident and former NFL star Malcolm Mitchell. As a wide receiver for the New England Patriots, he helped the team win the Super Bowl in 2017. Before that, the Valdosta native had an award-winning football career at the University of Georgia. But he says his biggest achievement is reading. Mitchell joins me in the studio now. Thanks for coming in.

Malcolm Mitchell: So happy to be here. Happy to share. Thank you for having me on.

Orlando Montoya: Now, you excelled at football early, but when did you realized that you were struggling with reading?

Malcolm Mitchell: Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention I was born and raised in Valdosta, Ga., home to the winningest high school football program in the country. So it's very easy to understand how I gravitated toward playing that sport in that type of environment. The consequences for growing up in a financially deprived community is that I did not always understand the importance of an education. The reason for that is that there are not many people walking around touting their academic accolades and how it empowered their future. So there is just this disconnect between understanding how reading, having an education, can get me where I wanted to be at in life.

Orlando Montoya: Was it hard to tell people?

Malcolm Mitchell: Well, I don't think it's very popular to run around shouting that you struggle to read, especially with the athletic accolades that I possessed. I believe I was an all SCC freshman of the year but having a hard time reading Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss.

Orlando Montoya: You talk about your moment with The Tell-Tale Heart, that that was a particular moment as well.

Malcolm Mitchell: Fair enough. I remember being in my English 1102 class, and I wish I could remember the professor because she did an astounding job. But there was this moment where we were asked to read aloud in class in popcorn reading style. For those who don't know, it's when one student reads a paragraph and has the option to call on any other student in the classroom to read a paragraph. And for someone who struggles to read, it's a nightmare. In fact, reliving those moments during this conversation is making me sweat. And there's one student who volunteered to read the entire passage. And when she began to read, I immediately felt inferior because I know I didn't possess that same ability. And as a competitor, I wanted to do something about it.

Orlando Montoya: What would you tell others in that situation now? People who might have problems reading, maybe they're in high school or earlier and they can't tell people, what would you tell them?

Malcolm Mitchell: I grew up in an environment where it was not uncommon for individuals to have only their mother or their grandmother or their aunt. I grew up in an environment where it wasn't uncommon for financial challenges to persist on a daily basis. I've also had the privilege of playing in a Super Bowl. Between that wide range of perspective, I have concluded that reading — being literate — is the most self-empowering tool a person could possess. I understand that it could be challenging. I understand that it can be difficult. I understand that you may not always understand its value because it is delayed gratification in a world that's full of immediate gratification. But if you struggle, I encourage you not to ignore that. Because whatever you want to accomplish, it is more likely to happen if you can read proficiently.

Orlando Montoya: You've written that you visited bookstores and libraries to help you learn. What books in particular helped you learn?

Malcolm Mitchell: Picture books! I love reading children's literature, and that's what inspired me to start writing and becoming a — aauthor myself.

Orlando Montoya: And you expressed your own voice in your first children's book, The Magician's Hat, while you were in college.

Malcolm Mitchell: That's right.

Orlando Montoya: Did — you did this to challenge others? Did it also challenge yourself?

Malcolm Mitchell: 1,000%. When I became so inspired by books, transitioning to writing wasn't necessarily my fear. Understanding how to put together a sentence and the structure of literature was a challenge because I was not an avid reader. But The Magician's Hat became this opportunity for me to try to inspire others how books had inspired me.

Orlando Montoya: And now your Share The Magic Foundation encourages others. It's partnered with Georgia Literacy Council and others on Georgia Reads. What's that and how can people get involved?

Malcolm Mitchell: I'll start by sharing, at this point of my life, reading has trumped any athletic accolade that I possess — even winning the Super Bowl. Share the Magic Foundation was created to inspire kids to read. Since 2016, we've encouraged over a million students. Have participation in all 50 states and 16 other countries. One of our partnerships that we formed recently is with the Georgia Council on Literacy for their Georgia Reads campaign, and it's to publicly acknowledge communities that are making great efforts in increasing literacy rates amongst their — their students. The campaign is really centered around creating a unified effort in the state of Georgia to amplify literacy resources, the literacy message as a whole, and get everybody on the same page, understanding that a person, a community, a city, a state cannot move forward if the people that are living within that state are not embracing reading as a tool to empower their future. I don't care how much technology is incorporated into our daily lives. Having the ability to read, to think critically and analyze information based on this skill set is one that goes unmatched.

Orlando Montoya: What kind of books do you like to read today?

Malcolm Mitchell: I read a picture book to my son, Oakley, every night. I read a lot of biographies now. And I read a lot of fiction. It's still reading that my creativity really blossoms. If I am trying to extract some new emotion out of myself, I usually read. If I'm trying to think of new ideas, I usually read. If I'm trying to find a sense of freedom in all the challenges that the world has to offer on a daily basis, I read. So it's kind of encapsulated every aspect of my being at this point.

Orlando Montoya: Malcolm Mitchell, formerly of the New England Patriots and Super Bowl champion and an avid reader. Thank you for joining me today.

Malcolm Mitchell: I appreciate you, my friend. Thank you.