The NFL released its list of 2023 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees. The nomination list features one player from each team, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have Larry Ogunjobi up for the award. This award was established starting with the 2014 season. It is meant to signify the player that demonstrates on the field qualities of great sportsmanship including fair play, respect for opponents, and integrity in competition. The award is named in honor of Art Rooney Sr., the founding owner of the Steelers. The award was named after him because of the class he brought to the NFL and his consistent demonstration of sportsmanship as an owner.
The list starts at 32, before being narrowed down to eight finalists in early December. The player who ultimately receives the award, announced at the annual NFL Honors show the night before the Super Bowl, will have $25,000 donated on his behalf to the charity of his choice. Ogunjobi has been active with a small handful of charities throughout his time in the NFL. The veteran defensive tackle has been involved with local food banks, Lighthouse Youth Services for underprivileged youth, and Waterboys. The last one is an organization that provides clean drinking water for one million people worldwide. Should he win, his donation would likely go to one of these great causes.
This will be the 10th annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award given out. No member of the Steelers has won the award, but WR Larry Fitzgerald, a University of Pittsburgh graduate, was given the honor in the first year of its existence. In 2022, Alex Highsmith was the Steelers’ nominee. There’s something about those University of North Carolina Charlotte players. Ogunjobi and Highsmith were teammates in college briefly at UNCC. Baltimore Ravens DE Calais Campbell took home the honor last year and chose to donate to the CRC Foundation, a charity Campbell established in his late father’s name to help his local communities with education, mentorship, and resources.
Per the Steelers’ official press release on Ogunjobi’s nomination, playing with respect is something that was instilled in him by his parents. While Ogunjobi was born in the United States, his parents moved here from Nigeria the year he was born.
“I enjoy the sport. I should say, I love the sport,” Ogunjobi said via Teresa Varley of the Steelers’ website. “I love everything about it. Football has opened so many doors for me, allowed me to do so many things, helped so many people. I owe this game a lot, so I don’t take it for granted.”
