Once considered the next big thing in NFL, Keith McCants was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990. Tragically, a knee injury put an end to McCants’s dreams of having an enduring career in football.
His worsening injury led to a painkiller prescription, which became an addiction. This eventually landed the linebacker in prison and without a place to call home.
The future looked bleak for McCants. That is, until a hand of friendship was extended from an unlikely 21-year-old college student named Robert Blackmon.
![Keith McCants of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a game against the 49ers in San Francisco. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F04%2F08%2Fet-footballer-789-8798-.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Compelled to help, Blackmon, now a Saint Petersburg, Florida, city councilman, reached out by phone.
“He immediately called back and said, ‘I think this is a God-send,’” Blackmon recalled. The then-college student pledged to help his new friend in whatever way he could.
Over the years, Blackmon aided the fallen NFL star to reach sobriety and regain his independence.
![Keith McCants and Robert Blackmon. (Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theblackmon">Robert Blackmon</a>)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F04%2F08%2FKeithRobert_61.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
![(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/theblackmon">Robert Blackmon</a>)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F04%2F08%2FKeithRobert_6-1.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Now at age 52, McCants has needed a cane for 20 years and requires hip surgery. Blackmon claims the NFL declined to subsidize the procedure.
The former linebacker dreams of walking along the Florida coastline without a cane, and hopes his recovery from addiction will inspire others to achieve their dreams.
“These last 11 years have been a wild ride,” he wrote. “I’m proud not only of what [McCants] has overcome, but the recognition he’s receiving for it. I’m grateful everyday to call him a friend.”
Blackmon is now helping to fund McCants’s hip surgery. His message is that “Anybody can change a life.”