Linval Joseph speaks out about bullying

When you think about Minnesota Vikings’ defensive tackle Linval Joseph, more often than not the vision is of him throwing overmatched offensive linemen around a football field en route to crushing another ball carrier. On Friday at a Minnesota Children’s Hospital, however, Joseph took on a much different role.

Joseph spoke to the children at the hospital about bullying as a part of text-to-give campaign with an organization called WAUHope (which stands for World Artists United Helping Others Progress Every day).

As difficult as it might be to imagine a guy like Joseph ever being the victim of bullying, it turns out that was the case when he and his family moved to Florida from the U.S. Virgin Islands when he was 10 years old.

“Coming from Virgin Islands to Florida was a big culture shock,” said Joseph. “Kids used to call us aliens, called us different, because we didn’t speak the same language. That put me in a shell. At the same time it helped me become who I am today.”

You can see a video of Joseph speaking to the children at the link to FOX 9 in the Twin Cities above. Joseph is also going to be challenging Vikings’ owner Zygi Wilf and his teammates to put together short anti-bullying videos and contribute to the campaign as well.

Kudos to Linval Joseph for taking part in a campaign like this one. Children shouldn’t have to put up with bullying, and the ones that do bully should be taught to know better, honestly.