Commanders Ex Ziggy Hood Heroically Prevents School Shooting
Ziggy Hood, who spent a decade as an NFL defensive lineman, including a stint with Washington, is now a schoolteacher in back in his hometown of Amarillo. And he recently intervened to help prevent a potential tragedy.
Hood, 36, who teaches biology and is an assistant football coach at Palo Duro High School, spoke to a student whom he thought was struggling mentally and emotionally. According to KAMR, police later became involved and made an arrest after finding a weapon on the school premises.
"After talking with him for a little bit, trying to explain to him, there’s multiple ways of going about this," Hood said. "And one way was not the way which he had planned."
Hood, who spent his first five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers after being a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft and then played with Washington from 2016 to 2018 as a 6-3, 300-pound run-stopper, gave credit to the school's liaison officers for helping to handle the situation.
“(The officers) did a wonderful job that day," he said. "They protected everybody. I’m just glad that he didn’t get hurt, somebody else didn’t get hurt, or multiple people didn’t get hurt."
Hood communicated through the media to encourage students to reach out to friends and family and adults if feeling overwhelmed "by the pressures of social media and trying to live up to a certain standard."
"Talk to somebody," Hood said. "If it’s not the teacher, if it’s not the counselor, if it’s not the principal, go to a local coach or go to somebody. You don’t want to make a permanent decision based off a temporary motion."
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