Colts’ Shaquille Leonard Named 2022 Ed Block Courage Award Recipient

On Wednesday, Indianapolis Colts 4x NFL All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard was named the team’s 2022 Ed Block Courage Award recipient.

Via the Ed Block Courage Award’s official web site:

“Each year, the Ed Block Courage Awards honors those National Football League players who exemplify commitments to the principles of sportsmanship and courage. This award is unique in that the recipients are selected solely by a vote of their teammates. Every fall all thirty two teams conduct a vote which results in each team selecting their Ed Block Courage Award recipient for the year.

The Ed Block Courage Award recipient symbolizes professionalism, great strength and dedication. He is also a community role model. With this honor, he enters into an association which contrasts his fierce profession by becoming a major component of the Courage House National Support Network for Kids. He becomes an Ambassador of Courage for victims of abuse, violence and neglect.

The Ed Block Courage Award recipient will be identified as a team player in helping abused children and families in crisis.

The Courage Award has become one of the most esteemed honors bestowed upon a player in the NFL, especially since the recipient is selected by his peers.”

Ed Block was a former head athletic trainer for the Baltimore Colts from 1954-1977.

Leonard was recently nominated as the Colts’ 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year award recipient, so this is just his latest accolade recognizing his outstanding community and philanthropic endeavors.

He has been heavily involved in giving back to his local communities in his native Lake View, South Carolina, as well as in Indianapolis, Indiana, with initiatives such as ‘The Maniac Foundation’ and as a leader in the Colts ‘Kicking the Stigma’ campaign.

Leonard was excited and humbled to receive such an honor (via Colts.com):

“To be selected by my teammates for this distinguished honor is a blessing,” said Leonard. “As NFL players, we have a platform to make an impact in the communities that we represent. I take great pride in being a servant leader and inspiring the youth in Indianapolis and my hometown of Lake View, South Carolina.”

The Ed Block Courage Awards ceremony will occur on April 3, 2022.