World Kindness Movement Blog

Selmon had a genuine kindness

TAMPA - We might have learned about Lee Roy Selmon because he was an all-American at the University of Oklahoma. We might have marveled at his athleticism as he helped build the earlyTampa Bay Buccaneers and became a member of pro football’s Hall of Fame. We might even have known of Selmon as the owner of a popular restaurant chain and namesake of an expressway.

But talk to his friends, to his barber, to the children who met him when he visited local public housing projects, even strangers who never spoke to him.

Selmon’s greatest gift might have been his quiet moments of humanity.

“He had what you would call the common touch,” said longtime friend Dr. Juel Smith of Tampa. “He could connect to the common people who would not have the means to see him on a football field or would not see him in corporate office, but maybe knew who he was because they saw him on TV.”

Smith, who knew Selmon when she founded University of South Florida’s Institute on Black Life, was thinking of the hours he spent signing autographs and posing for photos at an inner-city skating rink, and the easy conversations he had in visits to public housing.

“They loved him. The children were all over him. Everyone wanted to feel and touch him,” she said of 56-year-old Selmon, who died Sunday after suffering a stroke Friday morning.

Like many others, Smith spoke of traits that made everyone want to be around Selmon. No matter what the conversation or setting, he always shook hands or offered a genuine smile.

“It was always kind of hard to leave him,” said his barber of 15 years, Joe Demoulin, 57. “He was one of those guys, when you got ready to depart, you didn’t know who was going to get that last word in, like, ‘Okay, now It was so nice to see you again We’ll see you again real soon.’ You didn’t know how to end it.”

Demoulin, the owner of Attitude Plus barbershop on Nebraska Avenue, believes Selmon chose his shop years ago partly because of a sign outside: No profanity, no gossip.

Selmon came in every two weeks and sometimes brought his sons, Chris and Lee Roy Jr., and he often took time to talk to other clients, especially children.

“We felt like he was a part of us,” Demoulin said. “He treated us the same way.”

In more professional settings, Selmon’s character still touched others in a personal way.

Read More : http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/Selmon-had-a-genuine-kindness-17268434