ARLINGTON, Texas -- Vikings safety Madieu Williams was just named the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner during pre-game ceremonies at the Super Bowl.
Williams accepted the award from the Persian Gulf, where he's visiting with the Fourth Infantry Division.
"It is a tremendous honor to win this award named after Walter Payton, one of the greatest men to ever play in the National Football League," said Williams via the video screen at Cowboys Stadium. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there to accept the award, but it's an even greater honor to be here in Iraq with Task Force Iron Horse on a goodwill tour watching the Super Bowl with our troops."
The award honors one NFL player each year for his humanitarian contributions off the field.
A seven-year NFL veteran and Sierra Leone native, Williams has extended his helping hand to those near and far since moving to the United States. The Vikings' free safety made global headlines when he made a generous donation to create The Madieu Williams Center for Global Health that is affiliated with the University of Maryland. The center was built to focus on the public health issues in Prince George's County and Sierra Leone, his birthplace. Williams has already funded the construction of one school in his homeland and currently a second school is in the process of being built. Madieu's foundation sponsored a mission to Sierra Leone that flew American teachers, dentists and surgeons to help educate the teachers at his school, give free dental cleanings to all of the students and provide free surgeries.
"It is a tremendous honor that Madieu has been named the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year," said Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier. "It is quite an accomplishment and one that is well deserved. Madieu is a person that cares about people. He is not your prototypical pro athlete by any means. The fact that he is still taking trips and helping others that are less fortunate says a lot about Madieu. He has no other motivation other than to see someone else's life become better that what it currently is. He is a rare person."
