In early March, when most eyes in the NFL world were fixated on the scouting combine in Indianapolis, Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall stood on a stage inside Harvard’s School of Education in Cambridge, Mass.
His discomfort was evident and his smile too big to miss. The setting was new and usual and there was a part of him that just didn’t understand why — why him?
In the months prior, Marshall’s actions cost him millions in endorsement money and a slew of fans, and prompted derogatory and hate-filled messages from strangers from afar. His jersey was burned in the parking lot of the Broncos’ facility.