In a sports world where narcissistic jerks seem to get their mugs on the front page of the sports section for all the wrong reasons, every once in a while a guy comes along like Vinnie Lecavalier.
It doesn't happen often, but when it does, you get a glimpse of what is right in professional sports.
Which brings us to Lecavalier.
Word out of Tampa is Lecavalier's foundation has guaranteed a cool $3 million over the next eight years towards a new pediatric cancer center at the All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. Fittingly, the facility will be known as the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
Now, I know exactly what the pessimistic view is bound to be; the amount is less than half of what Lecavalier makes in a season. Cynics will also point out there is no better PR than the cameras catching the Lightning captain at a ribbon cutting ceremony a couple years down the road.
But with Lecavalier you get the feeling this is something personal. Something from the heart.
Far too often, thanks in no small part to media and public perception, athletes are portrayed as egotistical and self-centered. Each time a jock is led away in handcuffs, that legend grows.
And then a story like this comes along.
Maybe it is because the notion of a children's hospital touches the heart on a personal level. As mentioned in an earlier post, my own newborn daughter, just a few months ago, relied on the world-class care that only a pediatric center can provide in order to survive.
So yes, this hits close to home.
A couple of years ago, I brushed shoulders with Lecavalier at a charity golf pro-am in Montreal. As one would expect, he is as humble as they come, and as contradictory to the stereotypical jock as you can imagine.
Lecavalier is someone who, whether the cameras are on or off, just wants to make a difference.
His name on the outside of a building is a distinct reminder of that.