Former Longhorn Sam Acho Using Platform for Change
Samuel Acho has had a fruitful run in the National Football League. Most recently coming off a year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he is currently a free agent.
The former Longhorn has been vocal on prominent social issues, using his platform to promote change on and off the field. Acho shared his thoughts on the responsibility of athletes to utilize their platforms:
“From a bottom line standpoint, it's of the utmost importance for athletes to not only use their platform, but use their platform for good… I’ve seen recently a lot of people are doing things just to make money or to be in the headlines, and that's very short-term thinking.”
Acho has been at the forefront of racial issues in the NFL, which has demonstrated such racial disparities as 70% of NFL players being Black while only three of the 32 coaches are Black.
Acho believes that this disparity in the NFL is a “culture issue” which includes “implicit bias that exists in our country that people don’t even know about”. The Dallas native goes further in depth in a recent ‘The Players Tribune’ article published last month called “Upstairs and Downstairs”.
Off the field, Acho has been just as exciting, being set to release a new book “Let the World See You” in October. In a recent Instagram article, Acho wrote that the book was birthed from pain:
“This book is for anyone who wants to come out of their shell. I feel like a lot of people we tend to hide or pretend because we don’t want to be seen.. This book is for anyone who is sick of hiding… It wasn’t until I actually started letting my teammates see me, the real me, I’m talking [about] crying in front of my teammates… Once they saw the real me, I saw that they received freedom when I became free.”
The book is available for preorder now on samachobook.com.
When asked about a potential return to the NFL, the free agent says he’s “been training and staying ready [while also] waiting and trusting god”.
Whether it's on the field, or in the real world, the future is truly bright for the 31-year-old former Longhorn.