One of the more menacing figures and interesting stories in NFL history is really a big softie. And he’s not afraid to admit it.
“I have to hit from the little guy tees,” Christian Okoye said during a late May round at Sierra Lakes Golf Club in Fontana. “I’m not real good at this game, so I need all the help I can get.”
The former running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, nicknamed the Nigerian Nightmare because of his country of origin and formidable size, then steps to the 6,100-yard white tees and lofts a high drive down the first fairway before hitting his approach shot to about 25 feet and 2-putting for par.
Little guy tees? With a physique listed at 6-foot-1 and 260 pounds during his NFL playing days (1987-93), there’s nothing little about Christian Okoye. And that extends to his heart, compassion and quick-to-help nature.
Okoye, who graduated from Azusa Pacific University and lives in Rancho Cucamonga, started talking to and working with youth groups in 1990 and incorporated his Christian Okoye Foundation in 2000. Since that time he estimates he has affected the lives of “hundreds of thousands” of youths through his camps and other mentoring and fund-raising efforts, which includes annual golf tournaments at Sierra Lakes and elsewhere.
“The message we send out to them is that it’s important to have a goal in life, to have something that you live for, have a purpose in life,” Okoye said. “Seeing the change that happens in the kids we work with is what keeps me going.”
At 53, the former All-Pro running back and NFL rushing leader in 1989 wants to continue his charity work as long as he’s able. But no matter when he stops there’s no doubt he’s had an incredible journey.
A member of the Igbo ethnic group, Okoye was born in Enugu, Nigeria, and had a childhood he describes as “happy, but poor.” One of six children, Okoye was 6 when Igbo insurgents seceded from Nigeria and formed the Republic of Biafra, kicking off a civil war that raged from 1967-70. He recalls frequently waking up at night at relatives’ homes and in refugee camps to the sound of bullets piercing the air.
“It was a very difficult time,” Okoye said. “It taught me the importance of sticking together as a family and fighting through great odds.”
Okoye played soccer until he was 17 and was a sprinter and thrower on his high school track team. When he arrived at Azusa Pacific in 1982, he had never heard of American football, let alone seen a game, but his track prowess was evident as he amassed seven national collegiate titles in the shot put, discus and hammer throw. In 1984, despite attaining marks in the discus sufficient enough to qualify for the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Okoye was omitted from Nigeria’s team for what he calls political reasons. His practice and previous meet throws of between 212 and 218 feet would have put him on the podium in the Coliseum.
Frustrated, because “my whole goal was to be at that Olympics,” Okoye abandoned track and field, walked into the football office at Azusa Pacific and told Coach Jim Milhon that he wanted to give the sport a shot. When asked what position he played, Okoye shrugged and said he didn’t know any positions but that it would be cool to emulate Marcus Allen, whom Okoye was familiar with from the video highlights shown at the time of the Raiders’ running back during Oakland’s romp over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII in 1983.
So running back it was, and Okoye, despite playing only three seasons of NAIA football, was selected in the second round by the Chiefs and ran all the way into the team’s Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor. He’s also a member of the NAIA Track and Field Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame on the strength of his four touchdowns in the showcase game.
Hobbled by recurring knee injuries, Okoye retired after the 1993 season to devote time to his two daughters, Tiana and Laylah, and son Kosi, in addition to laying the groundwork for more charitable work with youth organizations. With his stature growing, it seemed the perfect time to become the mentor he wanted to be.
“When you’re in the public eye and kids look up to you, you have to consider yourself a role model to them,” Okoye said. “When you’re in a position to help, you should help. Growing up poor and seeing how poor people cannot get help and then seeing my position and how I am able to help encourages me to do the things I’m doing now. I want to give to kids what I didn’t have growing up.”
While tangible results when working with youths are often not instantly evident, Okoye says the volunteer help he gets at camps and other gatherings and the conversations he has with people he has met is proof that he’s having a positive impact – now and moving forward.
“I’ve met so many people and kids that came through my camps that tell me what our mentorship means,” he said. “That’s a great feeling. It tells me that what we’re doing is not for nothing.”
