African American Scholar Athletes Receive Honors

African American Scholar Athletes receive top Honors

On Saturday, February 20, 2010, at 6:00pm, at the Downtown Marriott Hotel. The National Alliance of African American Athletes (The Alliance) will recognize another stellar group of high school athletes from across the nation for the Franklin D. Watkins Memorial Award.

The award is presented each year to the nation’s top African American male high school scholar athlete.

The five finalists in alphabetical order are:

Devin Gardner, Detroit, MI; Eric Reid, Baton Rouge, LA, Evan Washington, Dallas, TX;  Brandon Willis, Duncan, SC; David Yankey, Atlanta, GA.

Previous awardees include:

Rhodes Scholar, Myron Rolle,

Justin Blalock, Atlanta Falcons,

Ted Ginn Jr., Miami Dolphins,

Lorenzo Alexander, Washington Redskins,

Mohammed Massaquoi, Cleveland Browns,

Darnell Dinkins, New Orleans Saints,

LaVarr Arrington, New York Giants,

Deryck Toles, Indianapolis Colts,

Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville Jaguars,

Ernie Sims, Detroit Lions,

Darius Walker, Houston Texans.

Grant Irons and Ronald Curry, formerly Oakland Raiders,

The National Alliance of African American Athletes was funded in 1989.  The mission of The Alliance is to empower African American males through athletics, education and public programs. The Watkins Award is presented annually to African American scholar-athletes since 1992, the Watkins Award is named for Franklin D. Watkins, the coach of championship football and basketball teams in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

www.naaaa.com Contacts: Everette Pearsall 410-551-3462