Tampa Is…?

The Tampa bay area has been fortunate to have been represented by a number of socially responsible individuals in professional sports who are active civically. Tony Dungy, George Steinbrenner, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and Brad Richards being standouts among them.

This week, those ranks swelled again with the announcement of Vincent Lecavalier’s $3-million dollar commitment to construction of the new All Children’s Hospital in downtown St. Petersburg, FL – specifically for a state-of-the art facility that will be named the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

This really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since it’s popularly held that among professional athletes, hockey players as a group are generally more down-to-earth and high-character individuals than others. To be sure, you don’t hear scandalous stories about steroids, crooked refs, sexual harassment, dog fighting or guns at strip clubs from the NHL. Of course, you could say that among the four major league professional sports, hockey has the lowest profile by far and thus less scrutiny, and you’d be 100% correct. But for those looking for role models among professional athletes, maybe the spotlight should shine a little brighter on the NHL.