In 15 years in this business, I’ve never covered an athlete more impressive than Joe Reitz. I’ve covered far more graceful athletes, but perhaps none with more personal grace. Or drive. Or humility.
As a college basketball player at Western Michigan, Reitz was a 6-foot-7, 250-pound bull in a china shop. As a professional football player, he was a 315-pound survivor, playing his final seven seasons in the NFL with his hometown Indianapolis Colts in a league that usually turns players like him into vagabonds.
Reitz retired from the NFL last month at age 31.