NEW YORK — Eric Berry is focused on football, but he also has grander visions of his future. He hopes to use his NFL fame and wealth to enhance his foundation and give back to the community.

The Tennessee safety already has one charitable iniative under way.

“Right now we are working on putting turf on the little league field where I played football at,” revealed Berry at an NFL Play 60 event. “My agent put together a plan to help me rebuild the facilities there, because they are pretty terrible right now.”

Another message Berry finds dear to his heart is making sure he treats the fans well. He acknowledged still feeling upset when Deion Sanders declined to give him an autograph when he was in high school (and wasn’t interested in speaking to Deion at the Play 60 event), and said he wants to be as accommodating as possible to fans.

“I just try to make sure that if someone comes up to me, whether it’s for an autograph or a handshake — because I’ve been shot down before like I told you — I don’t want nobody to feel like that.”

“That’s why I try to make sure I give back. To make sure that I treat them with respect. To make sure I remind myself that they are looking up to me and really want to meet me, so I’m going to treat them like they should be treated.”

– Jason Feller

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