From hardship, Steelers' Gay shares hope

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, November 13, 2011

Go ahead and trash William Gay on a message board. Light up the cornerback who, even in the midst of a solid season, is the most likely Steeler to be torched on sports-talk radio.

But before you eviscerate the player beaten on the Ravens' winning touchdown a week ago, draw back the curtain and look at the man.

Go back to last November, when Gay arrived at a Pittsburgh shelter to serve Thanksgiving dinner.

Look at the arch of his eyebrows when Barbara Nicholas, the development director of the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, informs him he is at a haven for abused women.

Watch Gay tell his story to women with cuts and bruises that are as raw as their psyche is wounded.

Gay tells them how brave they are for leaving a bad situation, something his mother tried to do when she was fatally shot. He tells them how courageous they are for taking refuge in a building where some of the windows are bulletproof.

He later stops at every table, individually talking with the women and children.

He listens to them. He hugs them. He understands them.

"It was just so real," said Nicholas, her voice catching a bit at the recollection. "It was such a genuine moment for everyone."

Moments such as these are why Joe Whitt Jr. wonders whether fans would be so tough on Gay if they knew what he has had to overcome.

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