Justin Simmons is standing at a lectern on the club level of Empower Field, talking about roots.
He is here two days after his Broncos lost to Kansas City and fell to 3-10 to present the franchise’s nomination for the NFL’s inaugural Inspire Change changemaker award to teenagers Nashara Ellerbee and Naja’Ray Wes. He speaks with ease about the pair’s accomplishments in the Montbello neighborhood because he didn’t just read about them on a white sheet before the program. He attended the meetings, kicked around ideas, provided his platform, did the work.
His roots, like theirs, are deep in this city by now, and most of the people in the room on this December day have watched them grow for years.