The Rams supported the Business of Student Success (BOSS) program as they culminated their sixth year mentoring young men throughout the Southern California region. BOSS, created in 2017 by retired sports attorney Everett L. Glenn, aims to help boys from under resourced communities and schools develop character, discipline, skills, positive habits and mindsets to achieve success in school and in their personal lives. After years of serving as a certified NBA and NFL attorney, Glenn realized the need to give back to the youth of Los Angeles through the lens of sports. The student athletes that participate in BOSS are disadvantaged middle and high school boys of color who aim to change their circumstances for the better.
Glenn's inspiration for the BOSS program came from his journey as a child playing sports, becoming a sports attorney and working with the Cleveland Browns, Oakland A's and NBA players such as Clark Kellogg. He believes sports and education can contribute to the development of youth and help with their achievement in the long run.
"My initial thought in creating BOSS was to level the playing field. We are helping young men develop their character, discipline, habits, skills and mindset to succeed despite the inequities in education and society. I wanted to intervene and create a program with the experiences that I had and changed my life around sixth through 12th grade. It gave me courage and confidence that I could compete with anybody. Playing sports made me a competitor, it made me want to win and gave me the Mamba Mentality. That is what we are giving these young boys," said Glenn. "What we're doing is giving timeless leadership and life success principles. We want them to know their 'why.' We are creating guys who will succeed despite the odds, don't make excuses, go the extra mile, are teachable who will master whatever they do and become the best."
The Rams have partnered with BOSS for several years. Noel Grigsby, Rams Coordinator of Social Justice and Football Development and Los Angeles native, joined the BOSS program as a mentor to help encourage professional success and education for all participants. Grigsby felt it was imperative to speak to the students and give his perspective on working in the sports industry and growing in his career.
"I thoroughly enjoyed the event. I think it's an opportunity to not only represent our organizations but also to represent the area where I come from, Southern California, which most of these boys were from. I enjoyed giving them insight on the pathway it took for me to get to the Los Angeles Rams, how important it is to give back, and being a bridge builder for the future," said Grigsby. "It's exciting building relationships, being the voice of reason, and mentoring boys that are in the shoes that I was in ten to fifteen years ago."
In the BOSS program, participants are committed to mastering the Six Foundational BOSS Pillars of Excellence and timeless leadership, personal development, and success imperatives. They encourage their students to master the pillars of Mentally BOSS, Emotionally BOSS, Socially BOSS, Physically BOSS, Economically BOSS, and Spiritually BOSS. Throughout their programs, which include BOSS Talks, BOSS STEM programs, BOSS Careers Pathways programs, and the BOSS year-round Academy, they teach their students to embrace those pillars and challenge themselves to always uphold them to the best of their abilities.
"To create an environment that provides exposure for the future youth to engage with sports professionals, to understand transferrable life skills that they can gain through sports and to build a network, I think it's a necessary resource for the youth, "said Johnathan Franklin, Rams Director of Social Justice and Football Development. "To provide a mentor-mentee relationship and create a day where the youth can ask different professional questions to further their dream beyond their current reality was incredible to be a part of and witness."
To learn more about the Rams' community efforts, please visit www.therams.com/community.
