Tracy Morgan, T-Pain & NFLers Help Raise Funds for Paralyzed Player Devon Gales: “I feel loved!”

Young football star Devon Gales made national news in 2015. But not for the reasons anyone would want.

Gales was a redshirt sophomore wide receiver for Southern University when he was traumatically injured in a game against the University of Georgia in Athens. He was blocking on a kickoff return early in the third quarter. Pretty routine…but something went horribly wrong. Gales fell to the ground, unable to feel his legs.

His prognosis was grim, but the young man’s genuine optimism has helped see him through. Against all odds, he’s hoping to walk again. 

But he’s got a long road ahead of him. He has special needs, not the least of which is a home that’s equipped to make his life easier. It’s called an “adaptive home”—and it’s not cheap. He’s currently living with his step-mother, who’s raised him since he was three, in a condominium in Atlanta, receiving financial assistance for housing from a foundation set up by Southern University.

Fortunately, big-hearted NFL players Travis Kelce and Jameis Winston, and celebrities Tracy Morgan and T-Pain are teaming up with Walk Again Athletic Warriors to sell custom shoes to raise $500,000 for an adaptive home for Gales that’s tailored to his needs.

Gales, whom everyone describes as upbeat and with a great sense of humor, says, “I feel loved! People still really care about me here and this is family and everybody in Georgia, I go anywhere – somebody might know me and they just give me love and I give it back however I can.”

One of the most amazing side notes on Gales’ journey is how he and the player he collided with, kicker Marshall Morgan, have become close friends since the accident. When the Gales family attended Morgan’s wedding last spring, they were seated directly behind the parents of the groom, where family would sit. Among the ornaments on the Gales’ Christmas tree this past year was a hand-painted one reading “Merry Christmas, Brother.” It was from Morgan and on it was a likeness of the two of them.

It’s great to see Gales getting the help he needs. And he says he plans on paying it forward: “I know there is a reason God chose me. I know there is a reason for everything that happens to you.”

To buy the kicks or donate, go to walkagain.org.