ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — It was late Saturday afternoon, March 2021, as good a time as any to stop into the American Legion in Golden, Colorado.
I bellied up, ordered a beer and had not yet taken my first sip when a couple patrons came up to me and told me Dalton Risner was there.
Dalton Risner, the Broncos’ starting left guard, at our humble American Legion?
Turns out Risner and his now wife Whitney were surprise guests at a silent auction fundraiser for Jadah McDaniels, a young woman who was brutally stabbed and left for dead. Now, the American Legion is a fine, fine establishment. It has chairs and tables and bar stools, cold beer and colder mugs, four TVs in the main room and they cook up a mean Fish Fry every other Friday. The people are friendly and would take the flannel shirt off their backs to help.
But it’s not the type of place that hosts black tie functions. That afternoon at the American Legion was the first thing I thought of Tuesday as it was announced Risner was the Broncos’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
There are sports stars who show up at charity events, pose for the camera, write a nice check and leave. And that’s great, too.
And Risner has done the well-publicized charitable events through his foundation. But to see Risner at the American Legion fundraiser 18 months ago, and making at least three trips to the ATM so he could pull out his own money to place substantial bids on the silent auction items for Jadah’s sake, spend a couple hours hanging out making small talk with all the patrons and friends and family of Jadah, is to have witnessed a man who puts in the time for the good of others.
I asked him Wednesday, after his Walter Payton MOY press conference, where did he get his heart for others?
He mentioned three people. Jesus and his faith. He mentioned his mom.
“Growing up, my mom didn’t care anything about sports,’’ Risner said as P.J. Locke walked by, giving him a congratulatory fist bump. “That was my dad. My dad’s great, too. But all mom cares about is how I was treating other people. Being good to people. She’d go to parent-teacher conferences and she didn’t care whether I got an A, B or C. She wanted to know how I was treating the teacher. That heart for others, you’re talking about, she instilled that in me.”
And he mentioned his wife Whitney.
“She doesn’t ever think we’re special because we live the life of a professional football player,’’ Risner said as Eric Saubert said congratulations with a fist bump. “She is always thinking of ways where we can do more to help others. At some point we all chase fame and fortune. All of us do. But I’ve learned, that doesn’t fill the cup.”
Risner is from the rural town of Wiggins so it’s not like he’s uncomfortable in places like the American Legion of Golden. I tried to buy him and Whitney a drink but they declined. They were only there to help Jadah. Instead, he bought me a beer. On his way out.
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