Warren Moon, Andrew Ware, and Vince Young all have something in common, and that bond goes much deeper than all three being ground-breaking African American quarterbacks, who’ve played the game at its highest level.
All three men were raised by strong single mothers, who guided and molded them into pictures of the success they are today. The three, along with former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, decided two years ago to bring together their commonality as products of single-mother homes to help other young men and women who are in the situation they were in to achieve.
They formed the Brothers In Arms to help high school student-athletes achieve their dreams of a college education. The group, which now consists of Moon, Ware and Young, held its second annual Celebrity Golf Tournament this week at The Club at Carlton Woods Creekside to raise money for scholarships.
It’s a cause that hits home with all three.
“It’s a major impact,” said Young, who starred at Madison High School before leading University of Texas to the 2006 national championship. “I was that kid, as well. Just to be looking up to these guys, as well, growing up and knowing that I can always call at any time with questions or to mentor me, guide me and help me get through my life and my career. To do that for a young man or a young lady, it’s a major impact. It really does help to know that somebody has went through the same situation you are going through and you know you know they are just a phone call away to help you be successful.
“That’s what we are doing here and have this brotherhood with these guys it’s fun. Being a young guy, I look up to these guys (glancing at Moon and Ware) and just to have a close intimate brotherhood and relationship with these guys means a lot to me, as well.”
Moon, the former Oilers great and Pro Football Hall of Famer, made himself available to both Ware and Young when they were young guys coming up. He also became close to Watson once he arrived in Houston to star for the Texans.
His relationships with all three have only continued to grow stronger over the years.
“I met Vince coming out of high school at Madison and I met Andre when he went to the University of Houston, so I’ve known these guys for a long time and they have had great careers and they also have not turned their back on their communities,” Moon said. “We all got together and said, we have this thing in common of coming from single mom homes and we wanted to do something with kids who come from that same type of background.
“It’s a great brotherhood that we have put together, we’ve got so much closer since we started this whole thing and we just want to keep building it and giving more young kids an opportunity to go to college and realize their dreams like we did.”
Their efforts have helped raise thousands of dollars to help send kids in the Houston area to college.
Here the criteria for being considered for the scholarship.
· Participate in a high school sport
· Resides in a single-parent home environment
· Represents diversity
· Current grade point average of 3.0 or higher
· Open to all majors
· Demonstrates leadership abilities
· Demonstrates a strong community service record
· Demonstrates outstanding financial need
· Legal resident residing in the Greater Houston Area
“It’s for a single parent to look at us and say, `hey, my son or my daughter can persevere,’” said Ware, who was the first African-American quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy. “Not to brag on ourselves or something but we feel like we have done okay and we have done it the right way and we have turned out okay. That’s something for a parent to know there is hope for my or my daughter.”
For more information on scholarships or to donate to the Brothers In Arms scholarship fund go to https://www.brothersinarmshouston.com/.
