Chris Huston (00:00.699)
Our featured guest today is a man who needs no introduction after finishing as a Heisman runner-up in 2003 for the Pittsburgh Panthers before going on to a brilliant NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals. More importantly, he was recently honored by the Heisman Trophy Trust with the 2025 Heisman Humanitarian Award for his tireless work with his foundation. I'm a lucky guy. The previous two Heisman Humanitarian winners that we had on the past couple of seasons were Mike Shachesky and Misty Copeland.

And now I get to welcome Larry Fitzgerald to the Heisman Trophy podcast. Welcome, Larry.

Larry Fitzgerald (00:31.768)
Thank you so much, Chris. It's an honor to be with you. And you mentioned some amazing people and ambassadors for great sports and just humanitarian missions in general. And missing Coach K and to be associated with greatness like that means a lot to me.

Chris Huston (00:49.085)
Were you surprised when you heard from the Heisman about this award? Was it something that maybe wasn't on your radar, but once you found out it was one of those things that it was just pretty exciting to learn about?

Larry Fitzgerald (01:01.004)
Yeah, it definitely was not on my radar. I didn't expect it. It's not something I had known a lot about. And so over the last couple of weeks, getting to understand about the organization and the things that it's done and how many unbelievable missions that it serves, it just made me really appreciative of the honor and being able to get back to New York and be there with everybody is really exciting for me.

Chris Huston (01:28.943)
Your foundation was founded in 2005. It focuses on two core pillars, supporting youth education and promoting breast cancer awareness. Tell our audience about what drove you to start your foundation and why it focuses in those two areas.

Larry Fitzgerald (01:43.47)
Well, yeah, initially in 2005, you know, I was 21 years old and you know, my, my nonprofit philanthropic, you know.

Background was essentially driven by my mother and her love for it. She actually found a couple of organizations in the Twin Cities area where I grew up. so like we were at different fundraisers and functions with her all the time. So it just became a part of our fabric as a family. Something we really wanted to do, really wanted to lean into. I feel like there's two different sides of philanthropy, right? You have your donors who support organizations and then you have your operators. And my mother was definitely an operator.

And kind of seeing the struggles that small organizations go through, especially with all the federal cuts to a lot of the nonprofits going on around the country, there's people who have to fill those gaps. And so that symbiotic relationship that donors and operators have with each other kind of understood that. I wanted to make sure that if I ever had the ability to make it, to able to have some of own capital, I wanted to make sure I was.

Chris Huston (02:28.956)
Mm-hmm.

Larry Fitzgerald (02:45.015)
doing my part as a philanthropist that was a donor and also as an operator, which I think gives you a unique perspective. And so it was always something I really wanted to do. You know, it's been 20 plus years still like trying to perfect it and figure out the right formula to be able to do everything that you want to accomplish. obviously philanthropy is a team sport. You know, it takes the Heisman Foundation. takes the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation. It takes a lot of other organizations to be able to bridge the gap with there's so many needs in our country and our world is zero.

Chris Huston (03:17.231)
Yeah, you launched the Breast Believe campaign, delivers vital education, prevention, and support resources to women and families in need of support surrounding breast cancer. Tell me more about that initiative.

Larry Fitzgerald (03:28.141)
Well, yeah, I mean, I just look back and think about the journey that my own mother went on, my Auntie Valerie, my mom's oldest sister went. When somebody's diagnosed, obviously you're dealing with a unbelievable amount of uncertainty. like your life as you know it is different, right? And like, where do you turn? Who do you turn to? You know, if you don't know physicians that are in the vicinity of you where you can reach out to and get information, like where do you go?

And the organization was established to be able to help women kind of provide them with the resources that they need, places to turn from support groups to doctors, to treatments, things that they need to be able to overcome that diagnosis. you know, so it was really just the roots of kind of what I remember, you know, people very close to me going through and what they needed at that critical moment.

Chris Huston (04:18.404)
It seems like such a vital service because we've seen there's very little support for research on women's issues, especially women's medical issues. We don't know a lot about things like postpartum depression and menopause and that kind of thing. Are you kind of looking to expand in other areas as far as women's health perhaps?

Larry Fitzgerald (04:41.395)
No, it's not something we've talked about as an organization is really like try to focus in on like what we what we know and what we understand, right? You know, it's we try to be like a foot wide and a mile deep and what we're able to do. It's it's a mission that we're really passionate about. really strong. We've learned so much over the last 20 years. And we want to use that information, knowledge and resources to focus on, you know, our core pillars.

Chris Huston (04:49.212)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Huston (05:09.756)
Got it. Can you share a story? Right. Yeah, yeah.

Larry Fitzgerald (05:10.585)
Not saying that the other women's health are not important. I'm saying that. We don't want to spread ourselves and not do a good job doing the things that we actually really focus on.

Chris Huston (05:21.168)
Right. You can only do so much, gotta focus in an area and do it well. Can you share a story or an example of how your foundation has positively impacted an individual or a community?

Larry Fitzgerald (05:31.662)
Yeah, I mean, so we've served, we've done over 700 mobile mammograms, you know, between here in the Phoenix metropolitan area and also back in my native land, the Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul area, where we take the mobile mammogram unit and bring it to the communities. know, sometimes there's a little bit of mistrust in some of the historically underserved communities. And to be able to, you know, kind of bring that level of trust up, you know, we want to bring the resources to them in the communities that they live and they serve and they work in.

And so just trying to break down those barriers is something that we really, really stress. So a lot of the model of times our mobile mammograms events are oversubscribed. So we need to come back again and we don't want to ever turn anybody away from services that we're providing. So those are some of the things that I'm really proud of. Some of the back to school events that we're able to do. Also some of the educational tech focused events that we're able to do.

So we're really passionate about our youth and supporting them and we're really passionate about breast cancer.

Chris Huston (06:33.072)
You mentioned earlier about the cuts going on with government. Have you guys had more of a challenge in recent months trying to fill those gaps?

Larry Fitzgerald (06:42.549)
I wouldn't say our organization personally has, but like when we're out and we're talking to smaller organizations that are writing, that need grants from us and other larger, you know, orgs, I mean, you definitely do hear about, we were getting this and, you know, that is completely gone, missing, and we need to be able to fill the gap in our budget by this amount. Anything that you can do to help us or introduce us to other donors will be great. And so we do hear and see it, but...

us personally know that we don't get any federal or state funding.

Chris Huston (07:17.116)
foundation hopes to bridge the digital divide that exists for underserved youth, providing more access to technology for those who have difficulty getting it. We've recently seen, however, that exposure to some forms of technology, specifically social media, can have some bad effects on youth. Has that understanding shaped your efforts in this area?

Larry Fitzgerald (07:35.358)
No, that wasn't really a focus of ours. Obviously, our goal is to be able to bring technology into underserved communities, right? You look at some of the fluent schools and some of the schools that struggle with funding, what the kids have access to.

Wi-Fi, being able to do their work online, to be able to turn their assignments, and all of these things are things that we try to focus on. Obviously, we can't make the kids not look at Facebook or Instagram or Snapchat or whatever that is, but being able to give them the resources to be able to create a future that they are proud of is something that I think is important for us as an organization. And it's giving these young people hope. I go into some of these schools and you talk to the kids, what do they want to do?

And it's like, they're not aiming high enough, right? Like they're not shooting for the stars. I remember as a kid, our teachers say, hey, you need to change trajectory. Like you need to aim higher. And, you know, that's the kind of a goal. Like if you can't see it you can't touch it, you can't read about it. can't, you know, it's not in your general vicinity. It's hard for you to imagine yourself doing that. And that's what I think being able to bridge that digital divide will help these kids with.

Chris Huston (08:46.374)
You've been involved in global humanitarian efforts as well. You've gone out and visited troops. How has travel and exposure to different cultures influenced your approach in giving back?

Larry Fitzgerald (08:55.053)
There was a quote that I heard a long time ago was, know, travel is the one thing you can do that costs money that makes you rich. And, you know, being able to go out in different communities around the world, you know, they might speak a different language, they might worship a different God, but, you know, at the end of it, everybody just wants to be loved and they want to love, right? They just, they want to share intimate moments with the people they care about. Like, so people are the same everywhere you go. And I think the more times you're able to get out in different communities and.

and see people in their native languages and lands, you become more compassionate, you become more thoughtful. And I think the world becomes a lot smaller when you actually go out and see it.

Chris Huston (09:37.756)
So true. Many young athletes look up to you as a role model. What advice would you give them about using their platform for positive change?

Larry Fitzgerald (09:45.422)
Well, I think, you you have to kind of find out what is important to you first and foremost. You know, I knew young what I kind of wanted to focus on when I, when I, when I think about how I want to serve my communities. But that was an example that I was able to receive, fortunately, from my parents, right? At a young age, a lot of young people don't have that direction. That's what I see as you get older, there'll be causes that, you, that you see and you hear about that just kind of, it kind of hits you. You know, it could be food insecurities. You might've been a young person that

you know, the summertime without school, you didn't get breakfast and lunch. You only got dinner. Like that might be a pain point for you, right? You know, might be after school activities with Boys and Girls Club, you know, like maybe you didn't play any sports and you know, going to the Boys and Girls Club was your opportunity to go learn how to play chess and you know, learn other life skills and get positive ventureship, right? So like there's going to be things that are going to resonate and connect with you as you get older. I say just be open to exploring those things.

And I think if you do that, you'll find something that you're passionate about.

Chris Huston (10:47.174)
The Heisman Trophy Trust will honor you at the Heisman weekend in December and gift your foundation with a $75,000 gift. Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals for the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation? How do you hope its legacy will continue to grow?

Larry Fitzgerald (11:01.569)
Well, I we try not to look at and talk about legacy that much. We try to stay like grounded and be where our feet are, right? Addressing these of today, you know, not so much what's going to be happening five and 10 years ago. People, people need resources like right now today. And I think, you know, we really want to continue to stay focused on that. That's something that, that we talk about a lot as an organization and, you know, putting out the fires as they come, you know, especially in the communities that we serve.

Chris Huston (11:32.562)
Talk a little football. Are you following college football these days?

Larry Fitzgerald (11:36.334)
I wouldn't say I follow it, you know, like super close. You know, there's games that I'll watch if I don't have anything going on. My kids are all got all type of activities and sports on the weekends. So there's some some weeks I'm able to catch a game or two and others that I don't don't watch TV at all. So but there are there are games that I watch, you know, periodically.

Chris Huston (11:53.222)
Yeah. Right.

Chris Huston (11:59.005)
We had Jeremiah Smith on the show earlier this year, as well as McKay Lim and two fantastic receivers. Are you familiar with them at all?

Larry Fitzgerald (12:05.229)
Yeah, yeah, I've got a chance to see Jeremiah obviously in the playoffs last year and I think I watched the Texas game when they played Ohio State played them and I saw Makai, we went out to a USC Michigan game. I saw him play there and then I watched the Notre Dame game when he played against Irish. So yeah, both of them immensely talented. think Makai probably be top 15 pick this year in the draft and obviously.

Jeremiah, when he's eligible next year, will do the same. And so really cool to watch these young players kind of just thrive and blossom with so many skills.

Chris Huston (12:42.674)
Going back to 2003, what a year you had. 92 receptions, 1,672 yards, 18.2 per catch, 22 touchdowns, Heisman runner-up. What was that experience like going to New York for you?

Larry Fitzgerald (12:54.701)
Well, it was great. I mean, to be able to sit there and get to know Jason White and Chris Perry, Eli Manning, relationships that I still have, you know, to this day, really meaningful. And to be able to get there and meet the micro-zeroes of the world and Desmond Howard and Billy Sims and all these amazing athletes who came before us that you hear about, that you heard, you watched, you know, as a young player and to see that tradition continue to go on. It was a really awesome experience for me.

Chris Huston (13:23.538)
Fairly close vote as well. Jason White, course, won. Was it a difficult thing as a competitor to come up short in that vote?

Larry Fitzgerald (13:31.916)
Yeah, I you know, I felt like I was the best player in the country and deserving of winning the trophy. you know, I...

I didn't play for a national championship. know, like Jason, I didn't play the marquee position. I didn't go to a Blue Blood school in terms of, you know, over the last 30 years, you know, Oklahoma had won multiple national championships. And so I think a couple of those things kind of went against me. also a true sophomore and no receiver had ever won the Heisman, you know, just as a receiver. You know, that's changed now, but, you know, I felt like I deserved it, but, know,

Things happen for a reason and I'm very happy with the experience that I had in college. It was amazing.

Chris Huston (14:16.914)
Did you ever wonder what if, if you had one?

Larry Fitzgerald (14:20.333)
no, you know, I don't know. I try not to go back in time and think about things like that because maybe my NFL career might have turned out the same. You see a lot of Heisman Trophy winners who are phenomenal in college and then their pro careers don't go the way they hoped it would go. So, you know, my pro career went better than I ever could have expected and I was very happy for that.

Chris Huston (14:31.6)
Yeah.

Chris Huston (14:47.164)
saw you recently with Eli Manning on a segment where you were actually molding the Heisman over at the Heisman factory. How was that experience? Jerking around with Eli, then Jason White shows up at the end. That looked like lot of fun.

Larry Fitzgerald(14:58.509)
Yeah, it was fun. was good to kind of like go back down memory lane and beat up on it a little bit. You know, put out a little bit of our frustrations from the years past. It was cool to be able to do that. I'm really close with Eli. You we see each other, you know, all over the place a few times a year. So it was good to be able to do that with him and have some laughs and giggles.

Chris Huston (15:19.238)
Well, before we go, can you just tell our audience how they can help out with your foundation, how they can contribute, where they can find out more information?

Larry Fitzgerald (15:26.753)
Yeah, Larry Fitzgerald foundation.org is where you can go and learn more information about what we're doing. If you'd like to make a contribution to our efforts, there's a place you can go in there to donate. We still have a lot of great things that we have in store.

Can't talk about them yet. You know, they're still in their preliminary phases, but I'm honored to be able to come to New York and be there with the Heisman Trophy group and, you know, meet some more amazing people and spend a weekend there in the city. So really forward to meeting you in person and, you know, seeing everybody else when I'm there.

Chris Huston (16:00.112)
Yeah. Likewise, you get to finally give a speech with the Heisman sitting there, right? Well, Larry Fitzgerald, the 2025 Heisman Humanitarian Award winner. Congratulations on that honor. Thank you for taking the time to share your vision on the Heisman Trophy podcast. We'll see you New York. We wish you the best of luck.

Larry Fitzgerald (16:05.485)
I'm gonna take it home with me too.

Larry Fitzgerald (16:22.241)
Thanks Chris, I appreciate it. Have a wonderful day my friend. Alright, bye.