Godwin Lawson was 17 when he was fatally stabbed in 2010 while trying to help his friends who were under attack in north London. British Dallas Cowboys coach Aden Durde says his story stood out while deciding which charity to support as part of the NFL's 'My Cause, My Cleats' campaign.
Wednesday 1 December 2021 10:41, UK
Godwin Lawson's name and life will never be forgotten. Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde is committed to making sure of that.
Lawson was just 17 and an aspiring footballer on the books of Oxford United when he lost his life in March 2010 after being stabbed while attempting to help two friends who were under attack by a group of men in Stamford Hill, north London.
His mother Yvonne and father Calvin subsequently launched the Godwin Lawson Foundation in 2012 to honour their son with the aim of preventing gun and knife crime by steering young people towards opportunity and clear of gang life.
It is a cause and a story that instantly struck a chord with Durde while deciding which charity to support as part of the NFL's 'My Cause, My Cleats' initiative, which saw the British coach wear specially-designed trainers sporting the Union Jack, the name Godwin Lawson and inspiring adjectives during Dallas' Thanksgiving defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders.
"I went to the NFL UK office and I wanted to highlight a charity in my local area that does positive work, but a smaller charity. I think it's really important, I think there's a lot of people doing a lot of really good work that goes unnoticed," Durde told UK reporters.
"There are big charities out there doing great work but I think there are a lot of smaller charities doing the real work with young people especially, that's important to me, in my local area and I just wanted to highlight that and I got a group of charities I looked at.
"Those issues, especially in my local area in north London are important and important in most cities, it kind of stuck out to me when I saw Godwin's charity. Sitting down and speaking to Yvonne and hearing the story kind of resonated with me and from that I wanted to work with them. That's why I'm doing it, it's close to my heart."
As of November 25 it is believed 28 teenagers have been murdered in London in 2021, one fewer than the highest number on record, that being 29 in 2008.
Durde, father to two sons aged 18 and 24, may be over 4,000 miles away from home but he still feels the impact of what remains a prevalent issue in the capital and across the UK.
"I've seen the effects of it, I've seen people it's happened to, I know people it's happened to, I've coached kids it's happened to, I've seen the effects it has on families," he said.
"I know kids that have been on the other side of it, that have committed a crime that I've been around like coaching or working on a project and you see the effect it has on their family too. I think it's just a problem that is there and is not going to get solved in one day, it's not that I'm going to solve it in one day, it's more that we just keep the discussion going and keep bringing the different ideas we can to help this problem be solved.
"One of the reasons I wanted to bring this is, you're talking about Godwin Wilson, so his name is not forgotten. There's another kid, his name shouldn't be forgotten, they are not stats, they're people that have died and from something that is happening where I'm from.
"For me there are a couple of reasons (for supporting the charity). One, I don't want his name to be forgotten, I don't want the kids that this happened to to be forgot, and two, I just want the discussion to keep going, that's what I can do from here."
Durde praised the NFL for offering its coaches and players the chance to support causes close to their heart through the campaign, particularly while being positioned on the other side of the Atlantic. Efe Obada previously turned his attention to matters close to home by working with the London-based BIGKID Foundation, which aims to put children at risk of social exclusion and youth violence on a more positive path.
The return of the International Series window in October coincided with the launch of the NFL Foundation UK at Tottenham Community Sports Centre, with the league and Greater London Authority contributing an initial £1m designed to provide organisations in London with grants, training and equipment with the goal of tackling inequality and lack of opportunities for 12-20-year-olds in London.
Durde immersed himself in American football at a young age and believes providing young people with similarly safe, engaging and nurturing environments in which to discover their potential can be key. He is also a strong advocate for the people behind such programmes and charities like Yvonne getting the recognition they deserve, even if they don't seek it.
"I think the more opportunities kids have to be around more inspirational activities, those are the things I want to bring to the forefront," he added. "Sometimes people or the environment tells you that you can be one thing, but there's a whole world of things you can be and they never show you that.
"When I went to play football it made me believe I could be something I never thought I could be before. I think that work people do is so important and they never get talked about. They're volunteers, they turn up every week and the same people helps kids, drive them to different games, they go above and beyond when maybe their parents might be working.
"Those things to me are the interventions that at times are missed, because of just funding or just lack of resource. The work Yvonne is doing, she meets these at-risk kids and to help them and inspire them is super important, to do that and to have been through what she's been through, after I heard her story, it's quite emotional. That's why I'm doing it."
