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  • 11 months ago
Their mother was an addict. He was 19 and a college football player but he chose to take in his brother to spare him from foster care.

This is the story of Ray Ray McElrathbey, who inspired the Disney film "Safety."
Transcript
00:00Football, no matter what league, what sport, none of it has my last name, but my brother does.
00:07And he's part of me, and he'll forever be a part of me, so it'll always be easy to
00:12choose family over everything.
00:30I have been used to taking care of my family. It was something that was always part of my life,
00:41and we stay close, tight-knit family, so we always try to do
00:46whatever we could for each other because, you know, family is everything for us.
01:00It takes a village, and joining any team, you don't know that the guys, a lot of times,
01:07if the guys have your back, but it was very prominent in my situation that the guys on
01:12my team had my back, and the Clemson community also had my back. So just being an athlete,
01:18knowing how to win, and knowing that you won't win every game,
01:23but the key is to continue playing, and if you continue to play in time, here's all, in a sense.
01:34I was at work when I received the email from the producer and said they greenlit the movie.
01:40It was overwhelming emotionally, so I just sat at my desk and cried for about 20 minutes,
01:45and then my co-workers thought something from the day had got to me, but it was just
01:50joy from hearing about it finally becoming what it is today, I guess, a motion picture.
02:01Never give up. Understand that effort breeds opportunity, so if you want opportunity,
02:08you need to put the effort in, and that, you know, understand that people are there for you.
02:15Never be afraid to ask for help.
02:23I hope to cure all these ills with my foundation, the Ray Ray Safety Net Foundation, so
02:31I just, if you're lost and you need a way, reach out, and I'll try to touch.
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