Exclusive to Femmefan.com an interview with Ronnie Lott – The man, his passion and his compassion.

By Myrna Giannoulis

This interview was conducted by Myrna Giannoulis, friend of Ronnie Lott and professional photographer, on behalf of www.Femmefan.com, on May 20, 2005 at Mr. Lott’s offices at HRJ Capital in Woodside, California.

“In our society, we’re starving for people to step up and make a difference. I want to be one of those people. I don’t want to walk away from my life feeling that I didn’t do enough.” Ronnie Lott, Founder, All Stars Helping Kids. http://www.allstarshelpingkids.com/

Football fans know Ronnie Lott, #42, for his on the field hits. He has been likened to a defensive back inside a linebacker’s body. His speed allowed him to cover anybody in the league and his aggressive style and hard hitting to knock them off their feet once they caught the ball.

Selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, Ronnie became the catalyst on a then-struggling San Francisco 49ers team. His play on the 49ers defense helped spark a turn-around as Ronnie Lott led the youngest starting secondary in the league to the 49ers first Super Bowl Championship in just his rookie season.

Lott began his career as the 49ers' starting left corner, picking off seven passes his rookie year, while returning three of them for touchdowns. But was when #42 made the switch to free safety that he made his biggest impact--both on the field and on opposing player's bodies.

Following the 1994 NFL campaign, the future Hall-of-Famer re-signed with the 49ers where he announced his retirement. 

On the field, Ronnie Lott was the heart and soul of the 49ers. Off the field, he has taken that passion and combined it with compassion to achieve much more. His work for the betterment of society is the true measure of Ronnie Lott ’s heart and soul.

 

Myrna:

Thank you Ronnie for allowing us to interview you for www.Femmefan.com

First, I’d like to ask you is to talk about the current Forty Niners’ situation and what you feel the franchise needs to do to return to prominence.

Ronnie:
The current Forty Niner situation is really a situation where they went through a drought of not having talented players. Unfortunately when you don’t have talented players and you don’t have an organization where it’s being supported with talent, it’s very difficult to win, and I think that hopefully will change. I think that Coach Nolan and the coaches that he’s brought in will hopefully change the perception of what’s been the case the last three or four years. The last three or four years with Coach Erickson and having the General Manager Terry Donahue, it just seemed that they weren’t on the same page. Combine that with not having the talented players, and it just didn’t work out.

Now with Coach Nolan coming in, having a draft picking up Alex Smith who is a talented player, hopefully maturing him into being a productive player along with some of the offensive linemen that they’ve brought in, that at least gets them going in a direction where now they have some talent. Hopefully the talent will then be able to learn skills so they can win.

Myrna:
Do you think that there is anyone active in the NFL right now that is as hard-hitting as you were when you played in the NFL?

Ronnie:
Oh, definitely. There are a bunch of guys that I like to watch when I’m watching on Sundays. Obviously one of the guys that I think is one of the top players that plays the safety position and he plays for the World Champions is Rodney Harrison.

Rodney Harrison is a competitor. He competes hard and he gives everything he can to not only the game of football, but also to his teammates. When I watch him, he conducts himself and plays the game hard. Yes, there are times that people have challenged him in terms of some of the things that maybe cross the line, which I don’t condone, but in terms of the aggressiveness, his style and the way he delivers a blow, I like that about him.

And then if you ask who’s the up and comer and who’s going to carry the torch it would probably be Roy Williams of the Dallas Cowboys. Roy is an exceptional football player. He has a chance of being a dominant player. I think that by bringing Roy and Marcus Spears together, these two gentlemen can dominate for the Dallas Cowboys and they should have an exceptional defense this upcoming year.

Myrna:
Do you think that you were prepared for life after football when you retired?

Ronnie:
Yeah, I think I was because I always asked the question, and I was always asking the question from my rookie year, “What am I going to do when I’m through?”

I think the question becomes one where you ask people that are a lot like you and asking former players and asking players who have played in the NFL, “what are the steps that you need to take?” The one thing that was told to me early on was that when you’re through playing, you don’t want to have a drastic step. You don’t want to have a big step where it feels like you’re falling and falling and falling. You want to take a small step, and a small step meaning you want to have some ideas of what you could do. One first thought was that I could always coach and I’ve always had that in the back of my head—that I could always coach. So I felt comfortable that I could go out and explore other opportunities. I always had the ability to at least talk about the game so I knew that I could do some broadcasting. I felt that was something that I could also do.

And then the third was that I was going to explore the entrepreneurial world, which I’ve been able to do. I’ve been able to go out and learn how to build a business. We have a couple of businesses now that I’m involved with--one here at HRJ Capital and then two in the automobile dealership business. What’s great about it is that I’m doing it with teammates that I’ve played with. I feel very comfortable and confident that we will be successful. We take some of the same characteristics and the same DNA that we had when we played and try to set an example of being the best, helping each other. It’s been a great transition from football to, one, working with your teammates, and two, to build something that you’re proud of.

Myrna:
Besides your wife, who I know that you love very much, who is the one person that has pretty much helped you form who you are today?

Ronnie:
Oh, I think that it’s pretty simple for me. I think that my family, and it’s not just my mom and dad, but my brother and sister. I think all of them in their own way have given certain attributes of who they are to allow me to become the person I am. When I look at my family, they’ve all played a role. And what’s great about that is that I can really look back and say, my sister did this, my brother did that, my mom and dad did this. They were able to be here for these reasons, and because of these reasons, they put me in an environment where I could flourish. If they did not take the time to buy me the tissues, to take me to the games, if my sister wasn’t willing to give up some of her time to say, “hey Ronnie,” these are things you should be cognizant of. And so all of the members of my family had a role in helping and I’m glad they had a role in helping because that’s where you want to get your roots from. I’m glad and I’m blessed that I have had that kind of support every day--not just in athletics but in every day learning of how to be a good person.

Thank you for allowing me to come and talk with you and spend time, sharing a little bit about myself.

“If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it.”
Ronnie Lott

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