The newest member of the Atlanta Falcons gave a passionate speech filled with profanity on live television after being selected in the 2017 NFL Draft. McKinley brought a photo of his grandmother on stage with him as he shook Roger Goodell’s hand.
“G–Damn. We got to get to the quarterback,” McKinley yelled to Deion Sanders on NFL Network in his passionate speech.
After yelling into the mic during his interview with Sanders, he added “fine me later” after he realized he had just cursed on live television.
“She means everything to me. I wouldn’t be here without her.” -Takkarist McKinley on his grandmother
McKinley’s grandmother passed away, and he made a promise to her that he would make a Division I roster. McKinley was one of the top pass rushers in this draft class. He has one of the quickest first steps of any edge rusher giving him the ability to get to the quarterback.
It sounds like Falcons fans are going to love his passion as long as he can harness it. ESPN the Magazine recently did a story on his family background.
Takk doesn’t know who his father is. The man Tedjulla followed to Mississippi soon after Takk was born was not his biological father, the family says, even though he bears the man’s family name. And so when Tedjulla left, it fell to his grandmother Myrtle and aunt Peggy to raise him.
Here’s the Falcons thoughts on McKinley:
McKinley also did another interview with ESPN:
He brought the photo of his grandmother with him to his draft press conference and spoke about the impact she had on his life.
“She paid her bills collecting bottles and cans…Her favorite wrestler was Booker T,” McKinley said.
