Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley will be donating $60,000 to Saginaw Public Schools athletic department in order to cover pay-to-participate fees that students interested in athletics will be forced to provide in 2012-13.
Due to cuts to the athletics budget, high school students were going to be forced to pay $75 in order to participate in sports this year. It was the first time in the school's history that this policy was going to be put into place and it didn't sit well with Woodley.
Via Michigan news outlet MLive.com:
"When LaMarr heard about it, it bothered him," said Malcom Staples, Woodley's uncle and business advisor. "When LaMarr was playing sports, if his family had to pay $75, they probably could have done it, but it would not have been a simple thing. It would be a hardship for a lot of people, even if they could come up with the money."
Woodley graduated from Saginaw in 2003 and went onto play at the University of Michigan prior to being selecting with the No. 46 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by the Steelers.
The donation will be spread through out the school system.
The $60,000 gift would pay for 800 high school student-athletes, not just at Saginaw High but at Arthur Hill and the Saginaw Public Schools junior highs and middle schools.