cd A Breed Apart.
Kamerion Wimbley Tackles Life Head-On. On His Own Terms. –Story and photography by Anna Cooke
THE AVERAGE STARTING PAY for a professional football player in the NFL is $1.9 million per year. 70% of NFL play- ers are between the ages of 22 and 27. Players in that age bracket earn less than the NFL average overall. Most NFL players don’t make it to the age range when they can start making serious money. According to Business Insider, that age bracket, 28 to 35, earns an average of $4 million a year and up.
After nine years with the NFL, 31-year-old Kamerion
Wimbley was ready to walk away from it all to spend more quality time with his family. He’d had a successful college career at Florida State University as one of the nation's top defensive ends. He was drafted 13th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and led the team in sacks during his outstanding 2006-2007 rookie debut. In 2010, Kamerion was traded to the Oakland Raiders where he pro- ceeded to take the Bay Area by storm, both on the field and off with his community involvement. When he made the decision to retire earlier this year, he
was an outside linebacker for the Tennessee Titans, where he’d played since 2012. He posted on Twitter, “Although my wife and two young daughters have always been incredibly supportive of my career, I am looking forward to spending more meaningful time with them and never missing anoth- er big moment in their lives.” In a team-issued statement, Titans General Manager
Ruston Webster said, “We want to congratulate Kamerion on his NFL career. He is a true pro and a fantastic person. Not everyone gets to walk away from the game on their own terms, but he is doing that today, and with my utmost respect. I know he has a number of business ventures already and we wish him and his family the best in what lies ahead.” Wimbley left a two-year contract worth more than $4
million in salary on the table. It turns out that Kamerion Wimbley’s business acumen
off the field is just as precise and hard-hitting as his athleti- cism was on the field. Of the 10 successful business ventures he owns and/or is involved with, his favorite is Gold Label Kennels in Crawfordville, Florida. There, The American Bully breed he has always loved, is safely and responsibly bred. Gold Label also focus on training, showing, rescuing and adopting The American Bully.
24 THE NEW BARKER Wimbley’s love for The American Bully began as a
youngster during years of watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on television. He was attracted to the look of the breed, no doubt: majestic, muscular and tough. “Love at first sight,” he recalls; then adds, “But, the real charm of the breed is their inner beauty. That’s what really made me fall in love with them. They may look tough on the outside, but inside, they are sweet and gentle dogs.” He was already educating friends, family, colleagues and
whoever would listen on the importance of responsible dog ownership when the news of Michael Vick and his Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting ring hit the media in 2007. Wimbley’s Cleveland Browns teammates, many of whom already had preconceived notions about the Bully breed even prior to the Vick incident, looked to him for answers. He took the opportunity to step up his efforts to inform the public and help dispel the stereotypical discrimination against bull breeds. As the media chose to focus on the neg- ativity of the moment, Wimbley remained stealthily-focused on the positive. The survival of The American Bully breed depended upon it. Any dog can be conditioned by its handler to become
vicious - whether it’s through training and neglect - or abuse, such as chaining and isolating the dog outdoors, with little to no human contact. Any breed of dog is a product of his or her own unique situation. Their birth, upbringing, and training will play a crucial role in determining the dog’s behavior. “Some people jump to conclusions without having all of
the relevant facts about The Bully breed. The media plays a huge part in sensationalizing incidents with irresponsible dog owners and attempt to paint the entire breed with broad strokes instead of looking at individual dog owners,” said Wimbley. He is committed to continue educating the public about
responsible dog ownership, with his primary focus naturally being on The American Bully breed. A “pet project” of his is the Bull Breed Coalition Registry (BBCR), where he is one of the founding members and a hands-on director. The registry will offer more innovative options for a broader population of people, including through the use of social media.
Continued on page 26 g
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