RAY LEWIS HONORED BY ALMA MATER IN LAKELAND

Raymond Anthony “Ray” Lewis has come a long way since starring on the gridiron at Kathleen High School nearly two decades ago.

Since leaving Kathleen in 1993, Lewis has attended the University of Miami and was a first-round draft pick by the Baltimore Ravens.

Getting into the NFL in 1996, Lewis has appeared in eight NFL Pro Bowls. He was named an NFL All-Pro seven times. He is a two-time NFL Defensive

Player of the Year. And he is a Super Bowl MVP.

Despite all of that, coming back to his high school alma mater on Tuesday, nearly made the 6-foot-1, 250-pound man emotional.

Lewis was one of two people inducted Tuesday into the Kathleen High School Hall of Fame. Lewis was inducted along with former long-time teacher Beth Johnson.

It was the school’s fifth hall of fame ceremony and Lewis and Johnson were the 13th and 14th people inducted.
“Going on the football field is so different than this,” Lewis said. “These are the things that humble you as a man.
“You can’t relate to the importance of this,” he said. “I’ve lived here. I’ve trained here. All the things I’ve ever done in life is here. That is the one thing that is overwhelming to me.”

When Lewis arrived at the auditorium Tuesday, he hugged Kathleen athletic director Gary Lineberger, an assistant football coach during Lewis’ days at Kathleen.

He later saw former head coach, now Tenoroc principal Earnest Joe, and hugged him as well.

“Coach Lineberger, coach Joe. They pushed you to be great,” Lewis said. “They pushed you to be different. They pushed you to never settle for less.

“The magnitude of this will last a lifetime,” he said. “To be honored and inducted into THIS hall of fame is overwhelming.”

Joe introduced Lewis, telling of his former players’ benevolent side while weaving in a couple of stories from when Lewis was at Kathleen.

“I’m proud of the young man,” Joe told the audience. “He’s always doing more. He’s always doing what’s good.”
Through his foundation, the Ray Lewis 52 Foundation, Lewis’ mission is to be able to help disadvantaged youth not only in the United States but abroad.

“What will your legacy be when your eyes close,” he asked the audience?

No matter what, Lewis’ legacy will always be tied to Kathleen High School, which is OK with him.

(mkrob.com)