The coronavirus pandemic put former Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald on a path toward ownership of another sports franchise.
"Sitting in the house all day not doing much. And I had a buddy tell me 'Hey, man, got this really cool game, pickleball. And, you know, I started watching it on YouTube to kind of understand it a little bit," Fitzgerald told the Arizona Republic."And I hit a couple and I was completely hooked within, you know, first couple of times I played."
Always a student of life and the world during his football days, Fitzgerald has found plenty of purpose since his 17-year NFL career ended in 2020. He's only 39 years old, and now chooses to surround himself with like-minded people who see the world as how can they make it a better place rather than what the world can do for them.
"I just love where he's at, you know, in terms of him as a man. He's fabulous dude, like a really, really good man who cares deeply about his community here in Phoenix, understands that he's in the prime of his career," Fitzgerald said."And not only can he can help the basketball team, obviously, but he can galvanize this community, especially young minorities that come from tough areas.
The sport combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It can be fast-paced or slowed down for strategy, is played by people of all ages and is relatively affordable in terms of equipment."It's great exercise, you can play for hours at a time if you're in relatively decent shape. It's a much safer sport, particularly than tennis. And it's very social," Levine said.
Other MLP franchise owners include pro athletes LeBron James, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Naomi Osaka and Kevin Durant; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and celebrities Heidi Klum and Eva Longoria.