Leonard Fournette considers himself a family man, but there’s one member in particular he’s especially close with – his mother, Lory.
The pair have been each other’s support system for years and Fournette is the first to admit he wouldn’t be playing in the NFL without his mother there to guide him every step of the way. Now, as the Jaguars star running back looks to keep his team rushing towards postseason glory, Fournette is determined to do his mom proud every time he suits up for a game.
Here’s everything you need to know about the woman who always has Fournette’s back:
1. She Tried to Trademark the Family’s Last Name
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Lory Fournette filed an application on May 20, 2015 to trademark “Fournette,” according to records filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office – right in the midst of her son’s record-breaking career at LSU. The request was made, in part, to allow for a variety of clothing and apparel, including everything from bandannas to jackets, jerseys, ponchos and thermal underwear, to be emblazoned with the star running back’s name.
The trademark office, however, denied her application on August 2 saying: “People would likely see this mark and make an association with the surname of this athlete. … The mark also is a variation on the last name “FOURNET,” which the attached www.ancestry.cominformation shows comes from the French term for ‘baker’ and has the ‘look and feel’ of a last name. Therefore, any other minor significance attached to this mark is secondary to its primary meaning as a surname, and it must be refused.”
Lory also reportedly attempted to trademark “BUGA Nation,” an acronym for “Being United Generates Attitude” which she and her husband Leonard used regularly while Fournette was being recruited. A “BUGA Nation” site was launched in 2014, but sales were almost immediately shut down while Fournette was in school due to NCAA Rules. “There’s certain rules that just can’t be broken,” Lory told USA Today at the time.
2. Lory Helped Leonard Overcome a Stutter
The Fournettes have always been a tight-knit family, but while success came, relatively, easy on the football field, there were a handful of challenges away from the gridiron as well. One of the lesser known obstacles for Fournette on his way to NFL stardom was a childhood stutter that his mother helped him overcome.
“Leonard was a child who stuttered,” she told the Los Angeles Times just before the 2017 Draft. “Nobody knows that. He had a stuttering problem real bad. He would always say, ‘Mom, I want to play in the NFL.’ I’d say, ‘You want to be in the NFL? You need to learn how to talk first.’”
Lory added that she would “make [Leonard] get in front of the mirror” and the two would practice interviews, taking their time on challenging words and practicing until he got it right. “I said, `You’re going to be before thousands of people, and you need to learn how to articulate your words. You cannot stutter, Leonard,” Lory explained. “They won’t be able to understand you.”
Practice did, in the end, make perfect and, now, Leonard is more than comfortable speaking in front of a camera – particularly after a dramatic victory with the Jaguars.
3. Leonard Bought His a Mother a Mercedes After the 2017 NFL Draft
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There are thank you gifts and then there are gifts that are, simply, above and beyond. Fournette made sure he was part of the second group after he was selected by the Jaguars in the 2017 NFL Draft.
He hadn’t even reached terms on his rookie deal yet, but Fournette didn’t wait – buying his mother a white Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE 63 S SUV. The running back called it a Mother’s Day gift. According to the official Mercedes Benz website that make and model of car starts at just over $110,000.
Fournette did, eventually, sign on the dotted line. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Fournette and the Jaguars agreed to a fully guaranteed, four-year rookie deal. Based on the NFL rookie wage scale for 2017, the total value of the deal was $27.15 million with a $17.9 million signing bonus. He might be buying a few more cars in the future.
4. Leonard Said He Missed His Mother’s Cooking While at LSU
Nobody makes better food than mom, right? Certainly not if you’re Leonard Fournette. The former LSU start told GQ:
Man, every time I used to come in the house, my mom would have white beans, red beans, stuffed bell peppers, gumbo, and macaroni… My momma can throw down in the kitchen. Even though [giving up her cooking] was hard for me, though, it was one of the better choices for myself that I’ve made, along with getting more sleep and developing better eating habits. The next level is all about getting your body right, and I think I’ve done a good job at that.
That, however, has changed a bit now that he’s turned pro. Fournette was the fourth overall pick in the 2017 Draft and, despite a dominant career with the Tigers, there was some concern over his weight heading into the NFL. So, unfortunately, mom’s home cooking had to go, along with late-night runs to McDonald’s and Waffle House.
Fournette now stocks up protein-heavy foods – turkey bacon, grilled chicken, sweet potatoes – and while he doesn’t spend every spare moment counting calories, he’s more aware than ever of what he eats and how it can affect his game. He’s worked with a nutritionalist through his rookie season in Jacksonville and it seems to be working. In his first 13 NFL games Fournette racked up 1,040 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
5. Fournette Relied on His Parents When His Daughter, Lyric, Was Born
Fournette welcomed his first daughter in January 2015 – just before he hit his stride at LSU – but the moment was marred with concern and caution when Lyric was born five weeks premature. She weighed just three pounds, two ounces, less than half the weight of an average newborn child.
Leonard told The Advocate he was, originally, nervous about telling his family that he and his girlfriend were expecting. He said:
I didn’t know what I was going to say, how I was going to explain it to Mom and Dad. I was scared about that. I finally just told them. It was something I was holding in for a long time.
It didn’t take long, however, for the Fournettes to find themselves wrapped around Lyric’s finger. “We were shocked in the beginning,” Lory said. “But Lyric has been a joy to our family.”
Lyric might not have had the most auspicious start, but just a few weeks after her third birthday, she’s thriving and the center of the entire family. In fact, Fournette credits his daughter, and his parent’s support, for helping jumpstart his career. “My main motivation is my daughter,” he told The Undefeated. “Everything I do is for her.”
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Lory Fournette, Leonard’s Mother: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know