Extended family of Steelers tees off for Porter’s cause
Inaugural golf event benefits foundation
It was practically a Super Bowl reunion Monday at Olde Stonewall Golf Club in Ellwood City, where former Steelers star Joey Porter held the inaugural Jasmine Nyree Celebrity Golf Classic.
Benefiting the foundation started by Porter and his wife, Christy, and named for their 23-year-old daughter Jasmine, who has autism, the event brought together Steelers legends from various parts of the country, all to support the fundraiser and the Porters.
“It’s amazing just seeing some of the guys you played with, a lot of the guys that came after me, we do have that common nexus that we all played for this organization,” said Jason Gildon, who tormented NFL quarterbacks alongside Porter for five seasons. “To come back and have that same camaraderie we once had as a team, it’s just special.”
While Gildon was flagging down food trucks and directing sponsors to their hole placements, you could find T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward heading to the driving range to hit some practice shots.
At one table sat James Farrior, Ike Taylor and recently retired defensive coordinator Keith Butler. When outgoing general manager Kevin Colbert arrived, Farrior welcomed him to the retirement club. James Harrison and Casey Hampton were sitting down nearby, catching up on life as “Big Snack” made the trip from his Houston- area home.
“I give it all to my wife and our Jasmine staff, they did a good job pulling this off and making it happen,” Porter said. “It’s the first year, and we have a good turnout. What makes it good is I had my celebrities come out for me. When you have 35 guys show up for you, the tournament is going to sell itself.”
As Porter talked, Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward made his way to the outing, as did former safety Ryan Clark and linebacker Ryan Shazier. Even a few rivals joined the festivities, including Fred Taylor, leading rusher in Jacksonville Jaguars history.
Not all 11,271 of his career yards came against the Steelers, but he did run for 234 in a 2000 win for Jacksonville at Three Rivers Stadium.
“We’ve heard that story a few times from him,” Gildon said with a smile. “It’s always fun to hear because it started off as around 200, then this morning it was up to 236. I said it’s going to be about 300 yards before he leaves here.”
Plenty of signed memorabilia was up for auction to raise money for the Jasmine Nyree Campus in Sheraden and to help families caring for people with special needs. Porter was looking forward to checking out whether his former teammates are staying up on their golf games, but even if they were hacking it into the high fescue at Olde Stonewall, there was sure to be a lot of trash-talk and competition.
Ike Taylor and Clark, two key members of the secondary in the 2000s, weren’t even in town to golf. They were just there to hang out, and Taylor provided his personal stash of cigars for players to puff on throughout the day.
“I’m jealous of the brotherhood these guys have. It’s awesome,” said Watt, who had Porter as his position coach when the Steelers drafted him in 2017. “That’s what winning a Super Bowl does to a group. You realize how tight-knit they are, and that’s something we’re trying to build.”