Watt's shoes were inspired by a visit with Navy SEAL widows. JJ Watt/Twitter
This article originally appeared on CultureMap.
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt just released a pair of shoes this holiday season, with the money going toward a good cause. Watt met a group of Navy SEAL widows in 2012, whom he says have become lifelong friends, and he wanted to do something to honor them.
Watt posted to social media saying he wanted to create a shoe to honor the Navy SEAL community and do it as "authentically as possible," so he brought in a Navy SEAL to help design the shoe. It's called the JJ II Valor edition.
"This is what we came up with. As you see, it's nothing flashy, nothing crazy. It's just what he wanted and there's many details of this shoe that are special to me," said Watt in an Instagram video.
View this post on InstagramThis pair is special. For so many reasons. For starters, for every pair purchased this holiday season, a pair of JJ's will be donated to The Navy SEAL Foundation. In addition, all of my personal proceeds from this shoe will go to directly to The Navy SEAL Danny Dietz Foundation. In 2012 while attending a Memorial Day event, I met a group of Navy SEAL widows who have now become lifelong friends. They have since introduced me to many incredible people within the SEAL community and beyond. I wanted to create a shoe to honor that community and do it as authentically as possible. The best way I knew how to do that was to invite a Navy SEAL to work hand in hand with me on designing the shoe. If you watch the video, you'll see all of the details and thought that went into creating this shoe. I am extremely excited about this shoe and I hope you'll enjoy it just as much as I do. Thank you and all the best!! It will be available Tonight at midnight on Reebok.com
A post shared by JJ Watt (@jjwatt) on Dec 11, 2018 at 6:18pm PST
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Astros stumble again as Braves complete gut-wrenching series sweep
Apr 17, 2024, 4:51 pm
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander will make his season debut Friday night at the Washington Nationals.
Houston manager Joe Espada made the announcement Wednesday.
“Getting him back is huge because it brings a level of confidence to our team, a boost of confidence that we’re going to get someone who’s been an MVP, a Cy Young (winner) on the mound,” Espada said. “It's (good) for the morale and to get stuff started and moving in the right direction.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. He made two rehabilitation starts, the first for Triple-A Sugar Land on April 7 before Saturday’s start for Double-A Corpus Christi.
Espada wouldn't say how many pitches the 41-year-old would be limited to but said they'll keep an eye on his workload.
“We've got to be careful how hard we push him early,” Espada said. “I know he’s going to want to go and stay out there and give us an opportunity to win, but we've got to be cautious of how hard we push him early in the season.”
Verlander wasn’t thrilled with the results in his rehabilitation starts, but he said Monday that those games were valuable in getting him prepared to come off the IL.
He allowed seven hits and six runs — five earned — in four innings against Frisco on Saturday. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.
Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six while pitching into the fourth inning for Sugar Land on April 7.
The Astros have gotten off to a tough start with Verlander and fellow starters Framber Valdez and José Urquidy on the injured list. They enter Wednesday's games last in the AL West with a 6-13 record.
Espada hopes Verlander can be the boost the team needs to get on track.
“It’s good to get him back in the rotation,” Espada said. “With what he means to this club just to get him back on track, getting some innings from him (to) build our rotation with the pieces that we need to move forward is exciting.”