Breaking the stigma: NFL Players Choir gives athletes outlet for other hobbies

“This is a great opportunity for players to use their singing talents and [to] be a part of something that will break that stigma of players not really having anything else to offer but hitting somebody with a helmet on,” says former NFL linebacker Tully Banta-Cain about the Players Choir.

“This is a great opportunity for players to use their singing talents and [to] be a part of something that will break that stigma of players not really having anything else to offer but hitting somebody with a helmet on,” says former NFL linebacker Tully Banta-Cain about the Players Choir. Photo by Trae Patton/NBC.

On this season of “America’s Got Talent,” viewers met a group of men used to performing in front of a huge audience. It’s called the Players Choir, a troupe of current and retired NFL players who sing and dance. While the band won’t be vying for the championship tonight after its elimination, it’s been performing every Super Bowl weekend since 2008 at the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. KCRW talks to the Players Choir founder Melanie Few and retired New England Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain.  

“A lot of players do have multiple talents outside of football that get overshadowed by playing in the NFL,” Banta-Cain tells KCRW. “This is a great opportunity for players to use their singing talents and [to] be a part of something that will break that stigma of players not really having anything else to offer but hitting somebody with a helmet on.”

Credits

Guests:

Host:

Madeleine Brand

Producers:

Sarah Sweeney, Angie Perrin, Michell Eloy, Amy Ta, Brian Hardzinski, Bennett Purser, Marcelle Hutchins