After a night of peaceful protests in Downtown Phoenix turned destructive on Saturday night, pro-football punter Marquette King brought people together to clean up the mess the next morning.
King is best known as an All-Pro punter for the then-Oakland Raiders from 2012 to 2017. He briefly played for the Denver Broncos in 2018 and most recently kicked for the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks.
On Sunday morning, King sent out a tweet asking for people to join him helping to clean up the city.
“Since I’m a resident of AZ I’m gonna be in Downtown Phoenix around 10ish with gloves and trash bags cleaning up the city,” King tweeted. “All races are welcome to come clean the city with me. Officers should come too.”
Over a dozen people showed up to clean up graffiti and broken glass in the downtown area.
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Some of the people who turned up to help were friends with King, like former ASU quarterback Robert Newslon, Jr. Some had never heard of King, but just wanted to help.
“So I just went on Twitter and I found ‘Phoenix cleanup’ and I search for that and I saw Marquette’s post and I didn’t know who he was,” another said.
King saw the cleanup as an opportunity to bring people together. “It’s a lot of division and I’m all about peace and love and that’s what I want my message to be,” King told reporters.
After the cleanup, King thought the day was a huge success.
“Today was a success. #GeorgeFloyd was a believer in peace and love as well as myself n everyone that was out here today helping people in Phoenix,” he tweeted. “It’s ok to be different! I choose to make an impact in showing love n peace. Make a difference but be smart and calculated.”
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In his tweet, King noted that it’s “ok to be different!” and that’s s huge reason why, even as a punter, he managed to be one of the most popular players on the Raiders during his tenure.
King was known for his booming foot as well as his ability to cut a rug on the field.
Here’s his patented Donkey dance.
There’s also the famous flag dance (that got him flagged for a penalty.)
King ranked among the top punters in the game during his NFL career. Rumors have it that his eccentric style led to him to being cut from the Raiders by the team’s new coach Jon Gruden in 2018.
While his style may have made him a bit much for the No Fun League, King believes that his attitude has helped him be a better person and to help those around him.
“I like to make other people’s day,” he told The Undefeated. “You might catch [someone] that might want to kill somebody today, but you walk up to them and you’re like, ‘How’s your day going?’ You know, then you crack a joke … [they] might not want to kill [that someone] today. You never know.”
“Everybody being themselves and not worrying about what other people think about them,” he added. “It’s just loving one another. Encouraging one another. And being positive.”