Getty Don Carey playing for the Lions in a game in Dallas.
The Detroit Lions have one of their former players now in the community as a major force for change.
Don Carey, who was running for a city council seat in Chesapeake, Virginia has prevailed. Not only did Carey win the seat, he did so in historic fashion.
Big congrats in store for former Lions S Don Carey, who won the city council race in Chesapeake, Va., earlier this month in historic fashion. Carey said he got the most votes in a council race in city history. He’ll be sworn in June 30th.
Carey managed to be the leading vote getter and collect 17,693 votes. That was good enough to get him through and mean that the former NFL player’s next career can officially begin.
Don Carey Ran For City Council
The former Lions safety and special teams ace ran for a city council seat in Chesapeake, Virginia. Some might think it is to satisfy a personal desire, but for Carey, the situation is actually quite different. He craves to help people, and finds the best way to do so is to roll up his sleeves and get to work on the front lines.
As Carey explained to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, his journey to the political arena has been a long and winding one, and the ambition dates back to his time in the NFL watching closely how communities can be positively impacted
The reason for his involvement, however? Entirely for the people and the experience of getting to serve them in order to solve problems and meet needs.
“I’ll tell you what I’ve found in this political thing, I don’t care much for the politics of it, but I do love dealing with people, hearing the issues that matter to people and then getting something solved,” he said. “It’s tougher to hear those issues (now), so I’m left to tell people what I care about.
“But thankfully, I’ve been around enough and I’ve talked to enough people that I kind of get an understanding of what the different areas, different neighborhoods of the city are needing. And the things that I care about aren’t too far off or aren’t different at all than what the different areas already need.”
According to the piece, Carey received enough signatures to appear high on the ballot, but his overall campaign could be impacted by the coronavirus. It’s clear given the record number of votes for him that it didn’t matter and folks were still motivated to vote for Carey in the end.
Don Carey Stats
A safety who scrapped to make it into the NFL, Carey made a name for himself with the Lions, and did so mostly on special teams. He finished his career with 190 tackles, 3 interceptions, 8 passes defended 3 forced fumbles and 1 defensive touchdown. While playing with the team’s defense, he played sparingly and was usually pressed into action due to a player struggling or an injury creating a depth situation.
Carey, however, was best known for his class and how he impacted the community in a positive way. Now that his career is over, it’s nice to see Carey continuing to live that value out.
Lions Post-Career Involvement Varies
The Lions have no shortage of players doing big things off the field following retirement. Linebacker Chris Spielman is visible as a football broadcaster and works with the NFL on Fox. Al Baker operates a successful rib business, while Billy Sims has a chain of BBQ restaurants. Former quarterback Gary Danielson is a college football broadcaster currently with CBS Sports. Former offensive lineman Lomas Brown can be heard doing color commentary on Lions radio broadcasts. That’s just to name a few notable cases.
Carey entering the political arena would be one of the most interesting and important jobs a former player could have. Certainly, it will be fascinating to see what he is able to do now that he is elected.
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