Raiders Took Part in Special Olympics Send-Off
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The 2022 USA Special Olympic Games in Orlando, Fla., officially wrapped up last week.
To celebrate the athletes from around Nevada who would go on to compete in the games, Raiders punter A.J. Cole and wide receiver Mack Hollins joined the group in a send-off dinner before they headed down to Orlando.
"It was great to just sit down and hear their stories and hear their athletic journeys," Hollins said via Raiders.com. "As an athlete, to hear that and know that they're going to compete at the highest level and hopefully come home with some gold is so inspiring, really."
The rewarding feeling was mutual for Cole.
"The involvement that the Raiders have in the community here in Las Vegas -- ever since I've been here -- we've kinda developed that," Cole said. "So Special Olympics is definitely something that I'm passionate about working with, so I've been able to get to know some of the people in that organization over the past couple years, so any chance I have to get out and work with these athletes and work with the coaches is really special.
"We're really excited about the community that we're building in Las Vegas, and pouring into that is really important for Raider Nation -- just to continue to spread our branches and spread our roots, really, down to Vegas."
Hollins said he has been familiar with Special Olympics since he was just a kid.
"I've had neighbors, I had a teammate who had a brother who was a Special Olympics athlete, so it's near and dear to my heart," Hollins said.
The receiver continued to detail what it was about these athletes that were so inspiring to him.
"The way that athletes interact with people, the heart that they have, the work ethic that they have with all the things that they face -- people put them down, people tell them they can't do something -- and they still persevere and they continue to be able to be great is so great for me to see as an athlete. Because when I look at it, I say, 'Wow, I really got a pretty easy road,'" Hollins said. "Nobody told me I couldn't do it the way that these athletes were told their whole lives, and yet, here they are competing for Olympic gold."
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