NFL

An African Athlete’s Risk…And Reward

The last time Cyrus Kouandjio walked off a football field his Alabama Crimson Tide had just lost to the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2013 Sugar Bowl. The mammoth 6-foot-6 310-pound tackle from Cameroon would now be facing a life-altering question: whether to return to his school for his senior year.

It wouldn’t be the need to win a national championship; he and his sooners had won one in 2012. No, Cyrus had to make a decision that would potentially make him or lose him millions of dollars a year in earnings. Stay in school, suffer a career-ending injury and millions of dollars are gone. Or declare yourself eligible for the draft and become a multi-millionaire literally overnight.

Perhaps, influenced by a father who took incalculable risks, Cyrus opted to go to the draft.

According to Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com, Cyrus father, Jean-Claude Kouandjio, risked his life to come to America for better education and more opportunities for his children. The risks he took are familiar to a lot of African immigrants: running from wars; living in forests; stowing away on ships; and crossing borders illegally. While a precious few make it, many more do not.

Cyrus is certain to go high in the draft, which means he’ll be guaranteed to become a millionaire on his official signing day. He will be able to buy pretty much anything that he wants. But it’s a sure bet that the first things he’ll finally be able to provide for his long-suffering father, will be things that had eluded them for most of their lives: rest and peace of mind.

A lot of people from Cameroon will be watching to see which team will Cyrus will end up playing for. And though it probably won’t matter where Cyrus ends up playing, the impact of his success will reverberate across the African continent. It will tell young Africans dreaming of better lives that maybe they, too, can make it if they are willing to pay the stiff price that success sometimes demands.

Good luck, Cyrus!