Canadian NFL Star Buys Minor League In Canada
Los Angeles Charger hopes to purchase land to develop indoor training facility for young players
Canadian NFL star Orlando Franklin, a Toronto native, is looking to give back.
The Jamaican-born Chargers offensive lineman has purchased the Scarborough Minor Football Association. It’s the same program Franklin spent eight years playing for as a youth before moving to Florida, where he played high school football in Delray Beach.
Franklin went on to play collegiately at Miami before being selected in the second round, No. 46 overall, by Denver in the 2011 NFL draft. Franklin cracked the Broncos’ starting lineup as a rookie and played four seasons there before signing a five-year, $36.5-million US deal with the Chargers as a free agent.
SMFA’s teams — from ages 8 through 17 — compete against other youth-tackle football clubs in the Greater Toronto Area, such as the Markham Raiders, Durham Dolphins, York Simcoe Bucs and Oshawa Hawkeyes.
“It’d be a dream come true, basically, to get the Scarborough Thunder and be more involved with the organization that was so pivotal to my success growing up,” said Franklin in a phone interview with John Kryk of the Postmedia Network.
According to a release announcing the move, the sole intent of the purchase is “the opportunity to give our kids more so they can be more successful.”
The statement also said Franklin’s vision includes purchasing land to accommodate an indoor training facility that would include an indoor turf field, library, basketball court, classrooms and pool table.
