Bonnie-Jill Laflin and Charles Haley discuss their charity "Tackle Tomorrow."
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00:00Here with my good buddy Charles Haley,
00:01five-time Super Bowl champion, 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.
00:05That's what we have in common
00:06since I was a cheerleader for both.
00:07And what I love about Charles is how much he does
00:10for the community to give back.
00:12First of all, talk about Tackle Tomorrow.
00:14What created this in your mind
00:16that you wanted to start this foundation?
00:18Well, Tackle Tomorrow is built on the premise of reading.
00:23So when I went to college,
00:25I was reading three grade levels behind.
00:27So I know the shame of that.
00:30And I want to make sure every kid get an opportunity
00:33to take advantage of that education
00:37because education is mobility.
00:39And so we want to empower these kids.
00:42And not only are you doing so much
00:44for the kids and the reading program,
00:46but now you have an event, not only for Thanksgiving,
00:49but also for Christmas to give back to the community
00:52during the holidays, which is so important.
00:54Yes, it's November 22nd.
00:57We're feeding 3,000 families.
01:00And Bonnie says she's going to make it.
01:02I don't know.
01:03I am, 6.30 in the morning.
01:04Because it's 6.30 in the morning.
01:05But it's, you know, in order to build a child,
01:09you have to build a community.
01:10The community have to understand
01:12that you're not there for one year, three months.
01:17They have to understand you're there for years to come.
01:19And that's what we've done
01:20in the nine schools we serve in DISD.
01:24And Charles, like you said,
01:25not only are you doing things during the holidays,
01:27you do things throughout the entire year.
01:30Talk about some of those events that you do to give back,
01:32especially with the literacy.
01:33Well, we just, everything we do is on merit bound.
01:38Kids have to earn the right.
01:39We just took 300, 400 kids
01:42up to see the Dallas Cowboys practice.
01:45Last week, last Friday, we give out books.
01:50We give out books to every kid
01:52in every school that we serve for that library.
01:55And if they write a reading report about it,
01:57they earn books.
01:59They're able to go in and buy either bike books
02:03or toys and stuff.
02:06We just, our thing is, and for the community,
02:09we do ESL, GED classes and basic computer skills.
02:15And I have to say, I'm so happy.
02:20We're in the worst communities,
02:22but I see so much growth in the kids and the families.
02:26Well, it's because of you.
02:27And I was able to be at your Tackle Tomorrow Gala,
02:31and it was absolutely amazing how many Hall of Famers,
02:35how many former teammates come out to support you.
02:39What does that mean when you see,
02:40not only are you giving back,
02:42but you have so much support from your teammates?
02:45You know, I'm happy, but I hope they understand
02:49it's not about Charles Haley.
02:50It's about the kids.
02:52It's about wanting to be a part of that legacy.
02:57That's what we learned as athletes,
03:00is to always be a part of something and to build.
03:04That's why we're teammates for life.
03:06And, you know, having 25 Hall of Famers come out
03:11and then, you know, another 25 players come out
03:16and it's just energizes the room.
03:20And create great vibes.
03:22You know, we would not be able to do this
03:24without Alvinson, Tom Thumb, and Kroger.
03:28They really stepped forward
03:29for our Christmas and Thanksgiving meals.
03:32Well, it's impressive.
03:33That means they do support your mission.
03:35And when you speak about your teammates,
03:36I gotta ask you, Charles,
03:38being one of the fierce defensive end pass rushers,
03:41what do you think of this Dallas Cowboys team so far?
03:44I mean, we're mid-season and things are not looking too good,
03:47especially on the defensive end.
03:49Well, it's like anything else.
03:52We, Jerry, the money is not there
03:56to bring real talent in to really to build.
04:00And then Jerry's building from younger guys.
04:04And so, you know, that takes a minute.
04:08And then anytime there's change for players
04:11and defense coordinators, the philosophy changes.
04:16So then it takes a minute for players to catch on.
04:20Yeah, but for you, what was your mentality?
04:21You would go in and everyone was so scared of Charles.
04:24I mean, now you're this big teddy bear,
04:25but people were so scared of you.
04:27I've had so many tell me that.
04:28What was your mentality going into games
04:30knowing that everyone feared you?
04:32Well, I'm not a big teddy bear.
04:34Don't get it twisted.
04:36Don't get it twisted.
04:37But I had a standard of excellence.
04:40And I was not gonna lower my standard of excellence
04:43for anyone.
04:45And those values I try to pass on
04:48to the other defensive linemen.
04:51And when I walked on the field, first I visualized,
04:55I saw myself being successful.
04:57I verbalized, I told my teammates,
04:59I'm gonna be the best player on the field.
05:01And they held me accountable.
05:03And so that's my secret.
05:06Absolutely.
05:07And walk us through, you win your first Super Bowl
05:10with the San Francisco 49ers against the Bengals.
05:13Walk us through that, winning that first time
05:15and that trophy.
05:17It was, A, I didn't really absorb what we did
05:23till three days later.
05:26Cause I just don't get too emotionally caught up
05:30at the moment.
05:32And then two or three days later,
05:33I realized I've done something incredible.
05:36But on the fifth day, I'm already started
05:40on getting my injuries taken care of
05:43and starting to work out for the next year.
05:46Cause I want it again.
05:48Once I got it one time, that taste, that hunger,
05:51it filled my soul up and I wanted another.
05:54Right.
05:55And then you got four more and ended up having
05:57over a hundred sacks in your career.
05:59Hall of Famer, another moment
06:01that you probably will never forget.
06:04What were the emotions and feelings during that ceremony?
06:06Well, I, you know, my thing was,
06:10I wanted to bring my past to my future.
06:14I wanted to talk to them,
06:16talk to everybody about mental health,
06:19that I'm bipolar.
06:20I want everybody to understand that the struggle,
06:24the stigma, and that the only way to get through it,
06:29you got to go through it.
06:31And I did, and I came out on top.
06:34And, you know, God has always been my rock.
06:37And I knew one day he would help me get
06:41into the Hall of Fame.
06:42But, you know, David Baker is like six knots,
06:47a big, big, and when he knocked on that door,
06:50I looked up and he said,
06:51welcome into the Hall of Fame.
06:54I said, I, you know, I was nervous,
06:55didn't know what to say.
06:56And then when I closed the door,
06:58my legs just got weak and I almost fell,
07:01but I had my family in there to support me.
07:03I just love that.
07:05You know, when you speak about your mental health,
07:06you've been very open about that.
07:08The pressure that some of these young
07:09Dallas Cowboy players, you know,
07:11when you wear that star on your helmet,
07:12there's a lot of pressure.
07:13It's national news, whether they win or lose.
07:15What is some advice you could tell
07:17some of those young guys?
07:18Because right now, especially in this season,
07:21it's very, very stressful,
07:22a lot of pressure for these young guys.
07:25I just make it plain and simple
07:27that they are the star.
07:30And, you know, Jerry promotes the Dallas Cowboys,
07:35but they are the Dallas Cowboys.
07:37And sometimes they think,
07:39just because they put that helmet on,
07:41that makes them great.
07:43That makes them a target for everybody
07:46that comes in to play them.
07:47And they got to be on that A game.
07:50Hey, you know, if I play,
07:52I want to play against the best.
07:54I want to beat the best.
07:56And so in order for them to really
07:58take those steps forward,
07:59they got to understand that they owe the fans,
08:04they owe the Joneses,
08:06and they owe their teammates
08:08to go out every week and be prepared to win.
08:11Absolutely love that.
08:12Now tell people how they can get involved
08:14in this first event, November 22nd,
08:16or also how they can donate.
08:18Well, go to tackletomorrow.com
08:21and you get all the information you need
08:24in order to donate and to be a part
08:27of our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration.
08:30Thank you so much, Charles.
08:31Five times the world champion,
08:33Hall of Famer, my buddy.
08:34Love ya.
08:34Love you too, boo.