The annual event was held outside of Hampton Roads for the first time in its 52-year history.
GLEN ALLEN, Va. — Nine individuals who have made significant contributions on and off the field were honored with Hall of Fame inductions Saturday morning at the Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen.
The 52nd annual Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held outside of Hampton Roads for the first time, brought together another great class.
Former Special Olympics President Rick Jeffery, longtime UVA Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, former Virginia Tech SID Dave Smith, Richmond sportswriter Paul Woody, and the late Hampton Sidney. Men's basketball coach Hal Nunnally was also a member.
UVA All-American Chris Long and Portsmouth native and track and field Olympian Rashaun Merritt rounded out the class, along with former Cavalier Monica Wright-Rogers and former USWNT head coach Jill Ellis.
For Long, a Charlottesville native, No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and two-time Super Bowl champion, accepting this honor on behalf of his home state has a different meaning.
“You can win the Super Bowl, you can win the Player of the Year award, but when you go home you want to be respected at home, and for me that means no matter what happens outside of state lines. It's great to be in this group because it means more than 'It's a dream come true,' he explained.
“When I was a kid, I moved here from far away California when my dad retired, and I really felt like I didn't have a home, but I feel like this place scooped me up. And when I walked in, it was home from day one.''Since then, I've raised my family here and spent my weekends hanging out with the guys I grew up with, and for me it's all come full circle. So I can't believe I'm here today. ”
For Rashaun Merritt, a Portsmouth native who attended Manor High School (formerly known as Woodrow Wilson), he's one of the most decorated track and field athletes of all time, but it's ironic that track and field runs in his family. Do not mean.
“It's a little different because I don't come from an athlete background. If I had come from an athlete background, I think it would have been something like this that people would have wanted to be one of the really great players, but I… I'm more proud of being a great human being than being a great athlete, so I'm really happy that people recognize the effort I put in. ”
With eight world championships and four Olympic medals, Rashaun was able to reflect on his childhood and turn his dreams into reality.
“I wrote in my yearbook that I wanted to set a world record in running. I didn't even know what kind of discipline it would take, but I stayed the course and am so happy that I found something that I love and am so blessed to do.” It was early. ”
Jill Ellis, who had a stellar soccer career at William & Mary and then led the USWNT to back-to-back World Cup championships, says it was all about the love of soccer.
“Very rarely in life do we just look back, but I think this is one of those moments where I think about all the people who have been on this journey with me. Sport has been a great gift to me in life, and it has given me It helped me find my voice, my family, my career, and being so involved in it was just a journey of passion, to be honest. ”
