Washington walks different path to CFL

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This article was published 19/06/2017 (2496 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

L’Damian Washington was at home in Missouri earlier this year, weighing his life options. Football, he thought, was finished.

He had been cut by the Edmonton Eskimos at their spring mini-camp and his prospects weren’t good. After eight pro tryouts in four years, including seven stops in the NFL, the 26-year-old wide receiver was ready to call it a career.

Then, a glimmer of hope.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers called with the offer of a tryout, but training camp was already underway and the Shreveport, La., product needed to be there immediately. Naturally, Washington answered the call.

In the two weeks since his arrival, he’s has made a big impression, wowing the Winnipeg coaching staff with his savvy and athleticism while showing some big-play capabilities in games and in practice.

On Saturday, he survived head coach Mike O’Shea’s final pre-season cutdown and has become a strong candidate to start his very first CFL regular-season game on July 1 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

On the surface, Washington’s path seems so typical of journeymen plying their trade in the CFL. But, on closer inspection, his story isn’t so typical. It’s heartbreaking.

He lived a childhood so filled with tragedy, it’s little wonder his old high school coach calls him one of the strongest people he knows.

Washington’s father was murdered when he was six and his mother died of a stroke after watching him play high school basketball as a 15-year-old. His older brother, La’Courtney, was faced with the prospect of raising his three brothers, Tobias, L’Damian and Tomarious.

As the sole breadwinner, he struggled to keep the family together.

“(I) lost both parents, but my older brother, he was 19, he was able to be my guardian and so we made it happen,” the soft-spoken Washington said following practice at Investors Group Field Monday afternoon. “I’m blessed to have my brothers in my life. Everything I do, the reason why I haven’t gave up, is because of them.”

Washington, whose best friend was also murdered as a 15-year-old, is a spiritual person. Prior to Edmonton’s mini-camp, he was in Jamaica helping to build houses with a church mission group and he takes his faith very seriously.

“Struggle brings perseverance, you know, if you don’t give up,” he said. “Anything that tests you brings faith and perseverance.

“I’ve been homeless before, I (had) no lights, no water. And so, God found a way for me to go to college when nobody from my family or my school ever went.”

Just how did the four brothers survive their hardscrabble existence?

“It was something else,” said Steven Dennis, Washington’s head coach at Shreveport’s Green Oaks High School. “La’Courtney had a lot of responsibility. He was (just) 19. All of the things they had to do just to stay together.

“I have to compliment La’Courtney because they went through a lot together. A lot of time they didn’t have the lights or gas. People in the community and the school where he graduated from, they helped him. I helped him, the assistant coaches (helped them) because they were just great people. And, at that time, they really needed some help. And they didn’t get into any trouble and our neighbourhood is a rough neighbourhood.”

As Washington pondered his future months ago, he thought he might do some motivational speaking and start a charitable foundation.

He has a psychology degree from the the University of Missouri, where he excelled for four years including two seasons as a starter on the Tigers football squad, and plans to continue to work toward a masters degree.

For now, he has football back. And he’s not taking it for granted.

“Not too many people can say they was part of seven teams,” he said, smiling. “So, either way, whether they worked out or not, God has a plan and he landed me here and it seems to be perfect timing…

“Kinda thought football was over. I went to mini-camp (in Edmonton). The new GM, I guess he didn’t like my skill set. I guess I was kinda done with football. (Bombers assistant GM Ted Goveia) called me, asked me if I had anything left in the tank. I showed up and thought, ‘Why not just make the most of the opportunity.’”

Dennis, who spent 10 years in the CFL with Saskatchewan and the Toronto Argonauts from 1975 to 1984, believes Washington has the right stuff to make it. Finally.

“He’s a character guy, “ Dennis said. “He’s a great guy and the guy can play. He has that tenacity that you want. His problem has been (injuries). You know when he went to San Francisco (49ers), he made the team. At least they said he made the team, but he had an injury and that knocked him out again.”

Washington acknowledges injuries have been a major issue. He’s listed at 6-4, 210 pounds, but he couldn’t guess Monday what his current weight is.

“Any time you go to an organization, especially in the NFL, if you’re a skinny guy like myself and you can’t contribute as a third receiver or special teams, it’s kind of a hard road for you,” Washington said. “If you’re not fully healthy, it’s definitely a hard world.”

When he made the trip to Winnipeg late last month, Washington deliberately kept the news to himself. Even his old coach, Dennis, was out of the loop.

“He’s kind of a a legend in Saskatchewan and it’s kinda amazing,” Washington said.

“I need to talk to that guy and tell him because I didn’t really tell any of my family I was here. I didn’t tell my brothers. I didn’t tell anyone. I said I’m gone for a while on business because I’ve been to a few camps, you know. I didn’t want to disappoint my family, if I got cut.”

Consider this business trip a success.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14