Ring of Brotherhood launches to aid athletes in their biggest fight
On the morning of February 25, 1995, Gerald McClellan was on top of the boxing world, a former middleweight champion riding a 21-fight winning streak into his bout against super middleweight titleholder Nigel Benn and on the verge of mega-fights at 168 pounds against his fellow superstars of the ring.
By the next morning, McClellan’s life had changed forever. Permanently injured in the fight with Benn, the Illinois native has been under the care of his sister, Lisa, for the last 27 years.
It’s a story that doesn’t get told.
Far from the bright lights, big money paydays and pay-per-view events in packed arenas, boxers like Gerald McClellan continue to fight in the shadows.
No longer.
Created by Lisa McClellan, Pastor Kevin Person, Moses Stovall and a team of like-minded individuals intent on bringing the stories of athletes past and present to the light, the Ring of Brotherhood is the vehicle to not only tell what these athletes have gone through after their time in the ring, on the field or on the court is over, but to aid them in the next chapter of their lives.
“Everything that I have lived for the last 27 years is riding on this,” said Lisa McClellan. “I want people to see what has happened in our lives – good and bad. It’s important that we not only tell the stories, but to also provide help to the fighters in need. For many of us caregivers, we have had no hope. The opportunity to have stem cell treatments and build homes for fighters in need are things that we could not have dreamed of before. Now we will be able to get brain scans for the fighters, offer marriage and family counseling to fighters in need, and we will put the fighters back in the spotlight to reconnect with their fans and to showcase their great careers. Our mission is to start a movement to appreciate these great athletes and to start caring for the ones in need.”
The Ring of brotherhood was created during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, and is prepared to release documentary features, a website, social media presence, a foundation, and also implement a Clinical Research Committee (CRC) on brain health. They will initiate these imperative outreaches to fighters and athletes in need. The hope is these will be the first steps in creating a life after sports for those who gave so much of themselves to entertain fans around the globe.
“We like to call the Ring of Brotherhood a ‘pandemic miracle’ in the sense that we will provide hope to both former world champion boxers and notable pro athletes who are no longer in the limelight,” said Pastor Kevin Person. “As a social-entrepreneurial company, our goal is to facilitate medical assistance, image re-branding, marriage and family therapy, financial empowerment, and career renewal through the power of media and film.“
Adds, Moses Stovall, “I am so excited to be a part of the R.O.B. team as we endeavor to bring our audience great, captivating stories in a creative and innovative way. As the Creative Manager, I’m so eager to display our heart-wrenching stories by using many of the new effective writing, musical and filming techniques available to us. I feel so blessed to be able to work with accomplished professionals in every field and we will film the good, bad & ugly in our attempt to praise the good, help the bad and change the ugly realities in the lives of the athletes who God chooses to send our way.“
Joining McClellan, Person and Stovall in their mission are fellow R.O.B. partners William Zimmerman, and Margaret Ellis, and strategic partnerships have already been established with the likes of the WBC and Mauricio Sulaiman, 12welve Creatives, Millennium Health, Boston BioLife, and with more to be announced soon.
Aiming to present compelling stories of professional athletes to the world through multimedia, Ring of Brotherhood will bring acute awareness to these athletes’ life challenges and successes by using a delicate and humanistic approach, and change lives one fight at a time.
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