Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy, is a friend of Florida A&M’s football coach, Earl Holmes, and thus was chosen to lead the University’s football team onto the field before its season-opening game against Mississippi Valley State on Sunday at the Citrus Bowl.
Martin has been named the team’s honorary captain this season.
During the summer, Martin and Holmes had discussed the idea of Martin as the team’s honorary captain as a way to call attention to the Trayvon Martin Foundation. That organization claims its purpose is to raise awareness about how violent crime damages victims’ families and offers support for those families.
After he led the team onto the field, Martin said, “It feels good just to be a part of that, man. I had a son that used to go to FAMU and Trayvon wanted to go to FAMU. I’m good friends with coach [Earl] Holmes, the coaching staff . . . some of the kids on the team I even coached them in little league football, so it felt good to run out there with them. Coach Holmes knows the passion I share with the kids at FAMU. He asked me and I gladly accepted.”
Next week, Martin is going to be part of the coin toss during FAMU’s home opener against Tennessee State. He said that after the George Zimmerman verdict was reached, “We’re just taking the momentum of the people that are behind us. We surrounded ourselves with good people … our families and friends. We’re just taking the momentum and trying to turn a negative into a positive.”
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