Sophia Whitesell: holding it in for so long, it can get so heavy, it can weigh you down. And I think a lot of that times that's when, you know, you really sink deep down because you just feel like nobody c quite understands you. Nobody understands what you're going through. Welcome to the Giving Game, the only show where professional athletes are banned from talking about their sport. That's right. No stats, no game recaps, no media trained answers. I'm your host, Sophie Weitzel, and every episode we find out who these athletes actually are when the cameras stop rolling and the jerseys come off. We're talking untold stories, questionable life decisions, dating disasters, money, family, fame, philanthropy, and all the stuff their PR teams would probably prefer skate off the internet. But here's the twist. Every episode is tied to a charity or cause chosen by the athlete. So while we're exposing personalities, we're also raising real money and driving measurable impact for the organizations that matter. There are only three rules on this show. No sports talk, no filters, raise as much money as possible. So if you've ever wondered what athletes are really like off the field, welcome to the Giving Game. Let the game begin. All right. Well, today we have Mr. Lawrence Moroni on the show. Welcome, Lawrence. ⁓ thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah. This might be the only sports show that you've ever been on where I actually don't know anything about your football career. And maybe a good or bad thing, I don't know. But we're gonna have some fun today. And the three rules of the show are, you know, no sports talk, no PR answers, and let's raise as much money for your foundation as possible. So Ready to get it started. Yes, yes. For sure. ⁓ so Lawrence, tell me a little bit about why you're here, ⁓ a little bit more about your foundation and what all you guys do. You know, when I got drafted, ⁓ you know, let me just go back. So growing up in St. Louis, and especially in my the community I grew up, ⁓ it was underserved, underprivileged, ⁓ lack of resources, and you know, and by the grace of ⁓ athletic talent that guy gave me, I was able to. still find my way through the Nicks and Crannies to, you know, further my education and further my talents. And so I knew once I got drafted in 2006 that I wanted to, you know, bring resources back to the community. You know what I'm saying? Be that, be that bridge and help uplift my community. And so I started my foundation. And so ⁓ my foundation we was r running from 2007 all the way to 2012. ⁓ we would we did a lot of back to school events. 39 Angels for Christmas, did a lot of ⁓ turkey drives for for needing families, partner with a lot of people in St. Louis, St. Patrick's Center, you know, giving out high meals. And so, you know, ⁓ I was playing then. And so we we did a lot of the basics, the the things that you know everybody was doing. And so one of the challenges was was I always trying to challenge my board at the time that, you know, what can we do differently that everybody's not doing? And so 2012, you know, life for me took a change. ⁓ start, you know, finding myself going down that slippery slope. So we we didn't really do much with the foundation. End up getting back in a better space in two thousand twenty, which seems so like a decade from twelve. And so at that time I ⁓ I was dating my fiance, which is now my wife, Briante. And she was, you know, just hearing my story, hearing everything that I overcome, you know, from mental health depression and, you know, you know, once being at the top. Mm. Coming back down to the bottom. And so she was just like, you know, we need to get back out in the community. Like the kids need to hear your story. Yeah. Need to hear all that you've been through, regardless of how I went. You, you, you're definitely a blessing to these kids. You're a success story. And I was just like, ⁓ we cool. I just rather, you know, just raise my kids ride off into the sunset. And so she probably badgered me for about two years to where 2022, I just decided because she wouldn't leave it alone, I say, okay. So she wanna restart the foundation. re-getting back out in the community. And I was kinda nervous. That's because, you know, almost a decade went by. I just didn't know how the city was gonna perceive me, even though I know I had a big career and I left a a big landmark on the city. I just didn't know how the receivement was gonna be after, you know, going dormant for so long. And so but this time when we re- re-revamped it, we rechanged the mission statement and we really focused on the mental, financial and physical wellness of the youth. And so in 2023 we did our first event and The love that I received from the city was one of them overwhelming ones. Like I can't believe they ⁓ they still remember me. ⁓ they still love me. And it just just to hear it was like, man, we've been missing you, been waiting for you to come back out. We glad you back out and just over this four year period, the love, the growth of the foundation, just where I was four years ago to where we at today is just been so remarkable, man. And just hearing them beautiful words from the city, just from the people of How much they appreciate me, miss me, and ⁓ love the things that I'm doing is, you know, one of the main reasons that we're keeping this foundation going. And so now with the foundation, we really focusing on the mental wellness of the youth and not just the youth, but the parents as well, the physical and the financial, 'cause them some of the things that I dealt with that really took me down that bad path of life. Yeah, that's that's amazing. And I don't know, you I'm sure you know this, but we chose to have you on in June for Mental health. Yeah, mental health awareness month. And I think it's so important for men. And I've I've actually gotten some crazy ⁓ a few crazy DMs about like, what about women? What you know, there's a lot and I'm like, I yes, like everybody's mental health is important, but like men, you know, creating healthier men automatically is gonna trickle down and create healthier daughters and healthier wives and you know, all those things. And I I think that, you know, you're probably a much better husband now than you were a boyfriend, you know. whenever that was and sounds like Brianna is a badass and I want to meet her. Briante. Briante. Briante. Okay. I sounds like she's a badass and I want to meet her. And she sounds awesome. So like good for her for keeping that going and just it sounds like you had a really good partner, have a really good partner in your life that's like, hey I'm gonna push you and I'm gonna keep you going and you know, more people need women like that in their lives. For sure. And so so one of our biggest we just coming off one of our biggest events, which is the LM thirty nine weekend Which is our ⁓ mental health sports jamboree. We have a lot of things going on in that net in that day, ⁓ you know, from flag football game championships to we have a bunch of resources that's readily there, ready for service. We just we just really try to create this safe environment that, you know, where people can just really let their hair down. enjoy themselves a big fun community event. But at the same time, you know, we bringing these resources to the community and and really connecting them to just it's just a really overall feel good day. We be having yoga and workouts and bill assistance from some of the electrical companies, water companies that's here in St. Louis. So we try to promote a lot of things as far as having mental health organizations there, other therapists and just there's there's giving their time and resources. So overall, like the event is just one of those amazing events, man. That I'm just so proud to just see the growth of it from year one to year four. And then our other big event is our Toys for Joy event ⁓ we do for Christmas and that we try to some make sure we support families and you know just to show you the growth of debt, we supported about roughly a hundred to a hundred and fifty families my first year till we supported Over 500 families last year. Wow. And you know, something that I didn't realize and you know, this may be like common knowledge in your world, but something I didn't know was, you know, talking to all these guys, they're like, Nobody else funds this. This is me. You know, you know, this is me. Like I don't I mean, and so I think that's why I wanted to start this too, because I'm like, you know, there's so many nonprofits out there that I think sometimes people who donate get a little bit overwhelmed. Right. And they're just like there's so many out there. And wanting to have a place for you to differentiate, like, hey, this is what Lawrence does. It's not just, you know, it's not the same thing everybody else does. And sometimes people get like it's almost like stimulation overload of like, I don't even know who to you know, I don't know what to donate. So many options. Yeah, but like a lot of people don't know that you guys are funding a lot of this yourselves. And I'm I'm just curious how long you had to fund it yourself before you actually got some got some help there. So every year we funded it let ⁓ funded it on our own last year was the first year we started getting some ⁓ some sponsorships, some donorships ⁓ that helped us fund it. But 90% of it really comes from us. ⁓ I know that there is a better way. I just haven't figured out the better way. And at the same time, I'm just one of them people that until I find a better way, I still have to figure out how to help my community, how to uplift my community and still put these events on. Cause I know it is is bringing so much joy and so much resources to the community that regardless if I get sponsorships or donorships, I have to figure out how to put this on because I see how much is really bringing my community up. And so also this year we would be starting a ⁓ after school program ⁓ that we'll be going into schools. And so even just funding and trying to get that started and uplifted. ⁓ it do takes takes money, you know what I'm saying? And so, like I say, right now we do fund ⁓ About ninety percent of everything we do. Just something I l have learned again, just talking to people and the learning is ⁓ like Shay, SGA and ⁓ his dad Vaughn have created this it's like after school hours, you know, ⁓ situation 'cause they're like, you know, everybody is kind of giving backpacks out and and the really dangerous time for these kids is like, you know, from when they get out of school until the moment they get back in school in the morning. So Creating a really safe spot for them after school was like the sure you know, their big thing. And I don't know how it is in your community, but I know in certain areas in St. Louis, because I'm a Missouri girl, so rep in that. But I will yeah. I know St. Louis. For sure. And so I know there's probably some areas where there are kids that don't feel safe and don't feel like they want to go home and and hopefully you you have something for them that's like, hey, this is a resource for you if you don't feel safe. For sure. We definitely just trying to create that, man. It's just because it's just like giving these kids hope, giving them a different option. Like we can tell them, hey, you should do better, but why should they do better? Why what you know I'm saying, or what are we doing to let them know that this is better, that we are here to support them because these will be the same kids if we can't get them early The goal, them gonna be the ones that's committing the crimes later. And so it's just for me, it's just always trying to make sure we give this next generation the opportunity of success. You get what I'm saying? ⁓ it's one thing if a person can't make it to success or this, but it's like who's they haven't even had the opportunities. So just showing the next generation a better way, a better path, then hey, you don't have to be a product of your environment. You can just be a product from your environment. And so the more people that I can bring up from my community. And hopefully they love what I did and what I'm doing is help shape their life that then they come back because I can't do it by myself. So the more people that I can create to be like me that come back and pour into our community is what I'm trying to do. I I love that, man. That's just that's awesome. That's so great. And you know, and some of the things that I want to touch on with you is just obviously the mental health aspect because it's, you know, that's what we're focusing on right now in this month and just saying, okay, why is it so hard? For guys, why you know, harder for guys. It really is. And it's like, especially athletes. And every single athlete that I've talked to has been like, I struggled with depression. I struggled with anxiety. I'd have panic attacks, or I felt all this pressure from my parents, or whatever it is, like some sort of mental health issue due to athletics and the pressure with athletics. And it's like, what are we gonna do to change this? Like, this isn't, I mean, I wanna change I wanna have a better world for my kids. Like, I don't want I want sports to be an outlet for my kids or an escape for my kids and now it's turning into more fucking pressure because you know there's play for like everybody's paying to play ball. Everybody's like, you know, there's just so much pressure involved now. And I just wanted to go back to being fun. And it's like it kind of starts with like you guys being like, hey, this isn't cool, right? Like people that look up to you being like, It's not cool to do that. It's actually cool to just play ball in your community and have fun, you know, and what we're doing for kids to make it fun again. ⁓ yeah. So The pressure comes from just you gotta think about it, like especially when you're playing football. And I should speak from that standpoint, even though we don't supposed to be talking about sports, but it the reason why it'd be so hard to talk about it because you know they teach you early, you can't wear your emotions on your sleeves. Football is a gladiator sport, so it's just like one, you gotta block your emotions because you don't never want your opponent to get the edge. And so once you go so many years of blocking emotions, so now you don't even know how to feel. And then you got so much pressure. Everybody only sees the Sunday, the game day, you know what I'm saying? But nobody hears the preparation that goes on throughout the week. The constant ⁓ verbal abuse from coaches and the pressure because you was a first round pick or a second round pick to perform. That knowing that every day they're looking to replace you, no matter how much money they're playing you, is always trying to replace you and then learning the business aspect about it. It's just like it's no longer personal, it's no longer fun. Because now we adding business to it. When money gets involved, now business is getting to it. And so now we can't really have fun because now we gotta look at this from a business structure standpoint. So it's just it it's so many things that goes on that really hurts a person mental. And you know, when people look at us as athletes, we these big strong athletes. So it's just like now the perception of the world, now we gotta be strong because the world says we have to be strong. in the wrong in in the world say we he's big tough athletes. So I don't want to talk about it. I I'd rather bottle my problems in and I'll rather hold them in because I don't want to talk to nobody. I don't want to release it. I don't you know what I'm saying. And nobody really never told us that it was okay to do that. And so and that's for me and my foundation, you know, that's what I want the kids to understand. It is okay not to be okay. That's okay. You know, and I understand the thing. And so what I want to do is try to bring the resources to help. Okay, let's work on your mental now because I know you you might not be having mental issues now, but I know that as we go up this ladder and we further this journey of sports life, these will arise. And so if we can teach you how to cope with these things now, and when you think about mental health, it's not a ⁓ a one all answer that's okay, I got mental health issues today and if I do this, I no longer have ⁓ but you'll have ⁓ for life. But how do we cope with ⁓ How do we ease it when we feel in anxiety or we feel in stress or feeling overwhelmed or our social battery is just not full no more. How do we recoup? And so trying to be proactive, then reactive, I think that will help, you know, some of them issues. Yeah, no, absolutely. And and people that haven't ever experienced it, ⁓ have a really hard time empathizing. And I've kind of like, you know, I've I've dated somebody I you know, my boyfriend, you know, I dated one time, he was like, I d I don't know what to do, like 'cause I'm having this horrible panic attack and I'm feeling like I can't breathe. It comes out of nowhere. Like it really does. And you know, he's sitting there and he's like, Well, what's made you what's made you anxious? We've had a really good day all day. Like, I don't know what's what's making you so anxious. I'm like, Nothing. Like it you that's not how it fucking works. You know, you're trying to be in like, that's not how it works. Like and I don't know why I'm just I'm just feeling this way and people wanna or people wanna help or whatever, but when they don't know and have an experience that they have no clue what to do. And you're just like, and it almost almost makes it worse. It's like I'd rather you just leave and not be here than you do what the whatever you're doing right now. But if you are experiencing like depression or ang I don't know what what you struggled with, but if you're experiencing depression or say you're in a super dark place right now and like there's somebody out there that's like Lawrence Moroni, he's my dog. He's my dude. Like I want to do everything he does. And they look to you and they're like, What's the first thing I can do to get better? If they can only do one thing that day and they're in a super shitty place, what would you tell them to do? First thing is, you know, that helped me is really opening myself up to find somebody to trust to talk to and people just don't understand. When you when you're able to talk, express yourself, use your words and you just put it out there in the air, whether help came or not. How much pressure that relieves you of from just holding it in, just keeping it upon you. And so I had to really trust talking to somebody. And I remember the first couple of times I talked to a therapist, you know, I wasn't open, you know, because I really didn't want to be there. And so, but the more and more she made me comfortable, the more and more she was able to talk to me and get me to talk to her. And the more and more I was able to get it out and put it out there in the air and really become the grips of. And being honest with Seth, and I think that's the first part. We have to be honest with ourselves, like there's a problem. Cause I think sometimes we don't think we have a problem or we don't have mental health issues because, you know, it might not be right there where you see it at first. But, you know, really just being honest with Seth was the first and taking accountability, okay, I need help. You know, we try to be so long, do everything on our on our own and be the tough guys and we don't want to admit it. And we don't want to go search for it. So for me, it was just really amended. All right, I'm not in a good space. I need help. Some things I can't get myself out of. I need help. How do I navigate through this part of life? And so once I start talking to or talking to my therapist and just getting it out and, you know, now I'm starting to find answers or okay, dang, maybe I could have did that better. Maybe I could have did this a different way. And so just really starting there. Just finding somebody that you can trust, that you're able to talk to that's not gonna judge you, not gonna have an opinion or try to use what you tell ⁓ against you. Yeah, for sure. And I I like to emphasize this too. Not every therapist is a fit for you, which sounds silly, but it's like that that person didn't work for me. But s and then some people just quit right then 'cause they're like, ⁓ I don't I don't mess with therapy. And it's like, well, no, maybe that just wasn't the right therapy. The right one for you. That wasn't it. Cause you know, maybe that that doesn't work for you and that's okay. But just saying, hey, that's Therapy isn't for you, it's a therapy's for everybody. You just have to find your your right for you. For sure. Whether it's a therapist, a life coach. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Just really having as somebody that you can f really let let a lot of that pressure off, man. Cause just holding it in for so long, it can get so heavy, it can weigh you down. And I think a lot of that times that's when, you know, you really sink deep down because you just feel like nobody c quite understands you. Nobody understands what you're going through. when you know you're not really opening up and giving somebody a chance to understand or a chance to help. So for me it was just really, you know, letting go of that of that ego, you know what I'm saying? And and r and letting go of that pride that stands in a lot of our ways that block us from getting better and block us from getting our blessings. So I really had to drop my ego and drop my pride and really open up and I realized, you know, talking led to something else, then led to something else and to where, you know, it's just a a a day-to-day process. And, you know, and letting it out and being emotionally healthy doesn't make a person soft. Like nobody, no girl wants a guy that they're gonna have to like, you know, they're gonna cry on their shoulder every night. Like nobody wants that, right? Like you you still want a like a healthy ⁓ man and you still want somebody who can lead, but like in order for them to do that, they gotta they gotta let shit out every now and then. They've got to be, you know You gotta be you gotta show a woman your vulnerable side. You gotta be able to be vulnerable. And so then I got a different perspective the other day during this like conversation ⁓ with Ben Zobrist. He's really, really great guy, really great. He's a pitcher. And he talked about how this has to start with the coaches. We gotta do something different about how the coaches and parents are are like start like it's not the kid's fault. The kid doesn't just automatically have all this pressure on themselves. Like that's not where this starts. This starts with us. And so what are we, what are we doing? What are we tea? What are we telling the coaches? Like actually it's not okay for, you know, do you know anything about your players or do you just know what position they play? Do you know like what kind of home life they have? Do you know what, you know, motivates them? What, you know, and I think that just really knowing your players and giving them that, that's what seems like a great coach to me, is somebody who it's like, They can bring out the best in you. They don't let you like have excuses. Like that there's no cop-outs, right? Because it's like that's also like a mental issue that you gotta figure out why you run away from everything. It's like we're not gonna let you cop out, but like what can we do to motivate you to get the best out of you without tearing kids down? Cause I feel like it's almost like let's tear them down and just rebuild them. Yeah. And it's ⁓ kids that especially don't have the greatest home lives already are don't have the the most self-worth. Right. And it's like you're telling these kids that already feel like shit at home that they're shit in their sport too, which they thought they were pretty good at, you know? And then we're expecting them to just magically be like, ⁓ I'm motivated now, man. Like, what kind of philosophy? You know what I mean? Like, how do we expect people to do well? And for sure. I mean, how the hell are we teaching coaches to be better? And that's that's what I want to see. Yeah, for sure. And I agree with you. I think it do start stare ⁓ because I I tell people all the time, I can't remember too many coaches that personally ask me. ⁓ how you feeling? How's home life? You know, and I think that that stated that separation. Not saying that you weren't a good coach, but you know, the better you know your kids and actually because when you gotta think about it, for some kids, coaches are the closest to a father figure that they'll get. And so the better that you can interact with your kids and your players, and I think for me being a coach now, coaching my son, Lil' League team, like we ask them questions. We try to create more than just a team, or you just a player, like a family bond, you know what I'm saying? Because A lot of these parents be single parents, single mothers. And then, you know, we coaches and so we try not to overly yell at ⁓ but we do because that's the nature of the game. But we definitely try to understand them and create these different experiences. So we teaching them and learning them now without all the other extra. And so ⁓ it do start with the coaches. I think it starts with the parents too at home. And so especially now we in this NIL deal, the parents is really over the edge and really put the pressure on the kid because it's like now to me I feel like some parents be, ⁓ yeah, this is my ticket out. We can get to the NIL, we can be straight. And it's just like for me, I let my son know it's like, listen, success can come in everything. Like you don't have to be successful in sports. Like I'm gonna support you and whatever you're gonna do or whoever you're gonna become to be. You know what I'm saying? It don't have to be sports. It is like no, I don't need your success to to change my lifestyle. You know what I'm saying? I really we really gotta start doing what's best for the kids, because if we in it if we really in it for the kids, us parents, coaches have to take our ego and our personal out of it and do what's best for the kid. Yeah. I how has your mentality changed being a parent? I'm just curious. Cause like I was an athlete growing up. I mean not my God, not like at your level, at the college level, but it was like, you know, people were shocked when they saw my kid, like my oldest kid, really not super athletic. And but he's very, very smart. And I and he's out there just ⁓ on the football field of just doing his thing. And they're like, I can't believe you are like just, ⁓ hey, good try, you know. But I'm like, yeah, because it doesn't matter, man. Like he's you know, what are the chances of my little kid being in the NFL? Not that, not that much, but the chances of him becoming a doctor or helping a lot of people or saving a lot of lives is pretty good. So if he could be a good person, like I don't give a shit, you know? And so it's crazy how less competitive I've gotten like as a parrot and people are like shocked about that. So I'm wondering if it's the same for you guys or if you're less ⁓ no, I ain't I ain't less competitive. ⁓ but one thing I say, I'm not living my dreams through him, right? Because I traveled that path. So, but like I tell him, ⁓ and I tell all my kids, is like, listen, if we gon sports, we're gonna compete. That's just the nature of of of sports. It's like I wanna teach my kids out before we even love the sport. We just need to love to compete because if we love to compete, then we can play any sport. And so don't get me wrong, and when I see him, I don't do the pity parties. ⁓ you know, I don't do that. I don't let him feel sorry for himself because the world ain't gonna let him feel sorry for himself. But at the same time, it's just like if we're gonna do it, we have to do it. Yeah. And it's a certain level of ⁓ mental that we have to have for this. And so it's like if we're gonna do it, hey, this is how we need to do it. And if you trust me, understand that, you know, I never lead you into a bad situation. But I'm not finna be picking you up because things don't go your way or it it ain't right for you because that's never how it's gonna be. So, you know, I try to be realistic with my kids with them in sports and understanding I tell ⁓ quick, you don't you don't practice enough or you don't work out enough. So don't I think you might need to, you know, reevaluate if sports is for you. You know what I'm saying? 'Cause I d I shouldn't as a parent have to tell you, Hey, let's get up and train. Yeah. Let's get up and work out. Yeah. So my mother didn't have to do that for me. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Because sports is what I wanted. And so I'm real competitive and I want him to be competitive because if we can compete, if we can have these core values of determination, you know what I'm saying, grit. Like I feel like, you know, the the core values that sports teach you, if we can whether we make it sports or not, if we can take that, if we can take that into the real world and still become successful, because you still gonna have to compete no matter what job title you do. You still gonna have to work. You still gonna you still gonna have to, you know, go through adversities. Everything ain't gonna be sweet. Yeah. You know, you still gonna have to react when curve balls come your way. You're not gonna have bosses that like you. You're not gonna get along with all your coworkers, like you gotta work out the team. And that's why it's always like Amazing whenever I, you know, we'd get an applicant for like that somebody was like, I was a collegiate athlete. I'm like, I always want to pick them because it's like they're coachable, right? And a lot of the kids, it's like, you know, I kind of talk out both sides of my mouth because on one side I'm like, you know, we've got to be mentally healthy. On the other side, cop-outs and things about like I can't I can't do that because it's hard and that's hard on my mental health, and I can't, you know, and I'm like, nope, that's not how that shit works. Like, you know, you gotta still do hard things and I used to like always tell my staff, I'm like, results don't lie. And you know, results are often harsh, but they're always fair. Like, so if you don't work out, like you're not gonna look good. If you don't put on all this work, you're not gonna be the best in your job. Results just don't lie. And so whenever my kids come to me and they're like, ⁓ I can't believe I got this grade, and I'm like, results don't lie. You know, I mean that what effort did you put in? And I think that that's really, really fair to say as a parent and just say, For sure. The world doesn't give a shit about your problems. They don't care that you know, they're just gonna be like It goes on. On to the next sucks to sucks to suck, man. We're gonna hire the next best guy, right? And how how you like combat that is is pretty cool. And just it telling me like how you're a parent is really neat to see. How many kids do you have? Three. Three. ⁓ me two. Yeah, I have a a girl and two boys. My girl is seventeen, finna be a senior, my middle boy is finna be a freshman, and my baby boy finna go into the second grade. ⁓ my gosh, you guys had like quite a quite a gap there. I love it. So is the baby boy like totally spoiled? He is. And and so, you know, like I think I love that challenge, a part of it because it's just like he didn't grow up how I grew up and, you know, had the chip on his shoulder because he really grew up with having everything, but do how do we still put that mental toughness in him? How do we still put that that work effort in him? You know what I'm saying? How do we still get him the to put that effort in. And so, you know, every day I work on this mentor. I I tell him how proud I am of my ⁓ you a big dog. You know what I'm saying? Because I understand like talent could be taught, skills can be taught. But the mental part of the game is where a lot of people lose it. ⁓ you just gotta have it. Yeah. And so I I work strongly on his mentor to get him to understand it's just like, yeah, you don't have the chip on your shoulder that I did, but I gotta give it to you another way. So I overly work on my kids mentor. I tell them we ain't lose a draw. Listen, y'all a big dog. We gonna be great. Y'all, y'all have a different purpose. You know, and so for me, outside of talent and getting them running and getting in shape, it's like I I'm overly big on making sure they mentoring in the right place and understanding that, you know, yeah, life ain't gonna be fair. Things ain't gonna always go your way, but what can we do about it? Let's control the controllables. And we can control How much effort we put in every day, how much time we put in every day. You know what I'm saying? So that's more important than anything because we all seen a bunch of talent. But talent alone don't get you to where you're trying to get. Totally. Yeah, I mean, yeah, absolutely. And say what you want about Kanye, but he was like, he was going on about how his mom, you know, my mom told me every day that I could do Anything I wanted. I could be anything I wanted to be in the world. Told me every day how great I was. Guess what? I became great. Like you tell your kids they're shit every day. They they're nothing. Like, what do you think's gonna come of it? Like so I just think of that and it's like, well, I mean he's confident. You say what you want about him, but like I mean he's a confident dude and he's like, I I do my thing and I go about life and I'm pretty successful. And I think that, you know, I try to do that with my kids too, of just like you're great. You can do anything you wanna do. It's not gonna be easy, but you can. You're like, you know, you're great and ⁓ I think if more parents maybe kind of went with that motto of just telling the your kids you could do anything, like maybe we would have less issues. I don't know. Yeah, but I see but I think parents gotta be honest with themselves too, because it's just like they ⁓ say, Well, I was raised this way, so that means you have to raise yours that way. And so it's just like even for me when I first had kids, like I wasn't raised with my father, but I I knew I couldn't use Design as an excuse to why I couldn't be a good father. to my kids. And so it's just like at some point we have to break the generational curses. It has to start somewhere. We can't keep blaming our past for the future of our kids. And so, you know, I just knew I wanted to be better. And, you know, what do that look like? And so I had to start freaking out what do a good father look like. Maybe I cause I didn't see it. Like, you know, and then you try to surround yourself with other positive fathers that's in their kids' life. I'm like, ⁓ see what they're doing, how they supporting their kids. And so You know, at first I was yeah, I was nervous of being a father. It is just like you had to go through your your trial and error moments and you know, you know, I know I did a lot of yelling at first because at first, you know, you know, sometimes you just do what you know. Yeah. And then it was just like, okay, let me try a different approach because everybody, every kid, every person don't learn the same. You know what I'm saying? Even I found that out with coaching. I can't coach every kid the same. They might not receive it the same. And so we have to be able to meet kids where they are. You know what I'm saying? And and and and teach them that when they can actually receive it. You know, you might be telling somebody the most important, the right thing in the world, but if you're not telling it to ⁓ in a way that they can receive it, it does is no good. Yeah, no, totally. I ⁓ I have a question about like, was there somebody when you were in your ⁓ you said you kinda had a a lull time, right? Like you retired and then you had a little bit of a like you your mental your mental health. took a toll. So was there anybody that you played with, right? Or anybody that ⁓ like ever reached out to you that was just like, hey man, ⁓ I hope you're doing okay. Like and I, you know, just checked on you. I definitely I had a c I had a couple of people, man. And I think around that time, one of my good friends that I did play with, you know, basically brought me out to where he stayed for about two weeks, let me clear my mind. And I know, you know, I was living in a fairy tale world out there because I still gotta go back to chaos, but you know, it at least gave me a chance to to breathe, to have a mental reset. And, you know, and even still, you know, throughout the process, that good friend never really gave me a chance to play pity party. You know what I'm saying? He let me get it out first. He let me vent, get it out, but it still is like, okay, but we here now. What now? So what are we finna do? What solutions are we gonna do? To get out the hole. Yeah. ⁓ you know what I'm saying? And so and I always appreciate them for that. You know what I'm saying? Cause it's just like, wow. You know, when I was looking for s ⁓ somebody just to be a pity party and it, you know, he didn't give me that. He didn't give me what I was looking for, but he gave me what I needed. And there was just that mental toughness to where like, hey, pick yourself up. Yeah. Interesting. And I ain't and I'm not finna hold your hand through the process, but hey, pick yourself up. Mm-hmm. Now let's get back on track. Yeah. Now let's go here. So let's do this. So if you And so I did have a person like that. If you have like a friend or something, say you have a friend that's going through some shit and they're just you know, ⁓ but they won't tell you anything they need. What what do you think's the best advice to give, like friends? Do you think it's just like, hey, just be there, just show up or Yeah, just for sure. You just gotta be there because you know, you don't wanna, you know, force it out of ⁓ and you just let them know, like, hey, listen, whenever you're ready to talk, 'cause it gotta be on their time, especially when you're dealing with men. You know what I'm saying? Is like men gotta be willing to change for them to change. There's nothing that nobody else can do to make somebody change. Like they have to be willing and ready for change. And I think, you know, just being there for them, just letting them know, like, hey, you know, whenever you need me, I'm here whenever you're ready to talk. You know, let me know. And just, you know, just being consistent. I think that's what it is too, being consistent in people's life. Not just in and out, being sometimey, just letting them know like, hey, I'm here, just checking on you. You know what I'm saying? And just really creating that two way street there. So When you leave, when you left and you retired, did you feel like every bit of identity was like stripped from you? And you felt Gone. No. Gone. Gone. ⁓ so you gotta think about it. We we've done this for so long, right? And so when you go back all the way from little league, you start to might have getting a little success, but nobody knew who you was in little league. And then you know, you start making a few tapples or touchdowns and ⁓ that's Such and such, and then you go to high school and they follow you to high school and it is like, you know, you repeat the process, probably not too big on the high school's ⁓ scene until you start making plays and like, ⁓ that's such and such. And then you same thing, go to college, you get drafted. And so you you know you dealing with this for so long. So when it's over, you feel like your identity is tied to the success of the sport. And so now once they took the sport, it feels like it took who you are, because without the sport, who is Lawrence Moroni? Cause you're not really thinking about that because you think about all the success and the notoriety I got for Lawrence Moroney and people knowing Lawrence Morone was for him playing sports. And so it was like when you first come out the game, it's like, yeah, you like you feel like your identity gone because it's like the thing that made you who you are, the thing that you think made you who you were, is stripped away from you. And so that was a a a big issue because it's like I didn't know who I was no more. 'Cause it's just like I wasn't on TV, the cameras was gone, the cheers was gone. It was just like, who am I? You know, all I've ever done was sports was like, what can I do now? Like, what do I suppose to do now? Yeah. Like, woof, woof. Nobody tells you about the the next part of life once this is gone. And so even through my foundation, we do ⁓ we do ⁓ mental health huddles. And ⁓ we starting to do them quarterly, just mental health hurdles. And I and the one thing when we just did it ⁓ in March. ⁓ the biggest thing I wanted to talk about is what happens when the ball go flat. Cause everybody talks about, you know, what you need to do to get there and how to prepare yourself to get there. And when you're going down the road, what you need to do to how to beat the obstacles, but nobody talks about what happens when the ball goes flat. Cause at some point, whether it's on your terms or somebody else term, the ball will go flat. No, they I mean, all these people are like, There's nobody that deserves these courtside tickets less than you, like, because I'm just not I mean, I could care care less. And ⁓ I've made just a lot of really good friends that also happen to play sports and they're like, How the like, what the fuck, man? And I'm like, Well, okay. I look at it like this. Like, if your friend is an orthodontist or a teacher or a lawyer or doctor, when they get off work and you guys go get drinks, do you ask them how many teeth they cleaned about their cases that day. Do you ask them about the, you know, no because they want a break from that. Like they love the fact that I don't, you know, that I don't care. I don't care. Because that's not who you are, right? You are so much more than that. And what's sad is like a lot of people don't know you. I guarantee you people probably just know you're maybe from St. Louis. ⁓ you got drafted by this team or you lived here for a while and your position and what else about you? And so I think it would probably I mean, I I don't know. I'm just saying in general, like most people that are sports fans, that's what they care about is your stats. And it's like, why d was there not a platform like this before where people cared about you guys as people, right? Is it because there's no money in it? Maybe. I don't know. I just think I don't just I just think, you know, people have so much going on in their lives already. I think, you know, to add on, to really know an athlete for who they are. And you gotta think about it too. A lot of times, unless you really grew up with that particular athlete, if you just a regular fan, what's the chance of you saying, I'm finna meet Tom Brady or I'm finna meet this athlete, LeBron James, or I'm finna be friends with Stephen Carey. So it's just like the thought of even being even around these athletes is so wise to where it's like, I don't need even need to know who they are as a person. It's just cool to watch them do what they do best. Yeah. I mean, and I get that too. I think I just am like I think that it kind of adds to the pressure of you guys of like people not wanting to just know more about what you care about outside of it. And I thought, you know, this is your guys' industry, like just professional sports alone, brought in over five hundred billion dollars. And all of that went to from your fans, right? And back into the sport. And it's like how much of that is actually going into what the players care about? And what they're invested in outside of this. And I think it's really just a cool thing to to talk about and say, okay, like we need to put something into the players too, because they're they're entertaining us, right? Even if you want to think about it, think about it that way. You guys have been really entertaining to people. So it's like, let's give something back to them for doing that for us, you know? And and that's kind of how I want to look at it. And you know, that'd be too much like right. It would be, man. ⁓ cause you gotta think about it. People wouldn't do that. I don't think people would do that just because they already go 'cause then it's gonna go too well. Look at their contract. They are already making millions of dollars. What more do they need? Yeah, I mean, that's fair. I yeah. I I get it. I just maybe I just look at the world a little different, man. I don't know. More people like you. I ⁓ I love it. Yeah. I and ⁓ you know, ⁓ again, I just wanna really, really emphasize all the good work that you are doing in Saint Louis if If people don't know. And how would I go ab ⁓ it okay. Here's here's also another obstacle that people have and face is that sure there's a ton of resources out there. There really is. but people don't know. People don't know about them. It's overload, right? And so people may not know, okay. Well, Lawrence Moroni's foundation will do this for you if you don't have a safe place or if you're mentally not in a good spot, like you could come here. They may not know that. So how do we get the word out and say, Hey. This is available to you. ⁓ this is where you go and and this is what you do to join. Well, one, you know, platforms like yours is an amazing platform that allows, you know, organizations like mine and other people organizations to really get their their their their message out there, ⁓ what they're about out there, the the the the resources that they're offering out there. So I definitely wanna say thank you and I appreciate you for that and having this platform for athletes like myself to be able to put what they're doing out there to the world. To see, you know what I'm saying, for people can see actually what they doing. But you can also follow the foundation on Instagram and Facebook at LM39 Foundation. And then at the website, LM39Foundation.com. You can follow a lot of the things we do, ⁓ what we have coming up and coming, how to donate, how to volunteer. Just and really just stay in tune with what all the great things we have coming up. That's amazing. And do you guys have any like big events where you ho like like a big ⁓ like donor opportunity? Do you host like a golf tournament or do anything like that? So through the LM thirty nine weekend, when we do our mental health jammery, we do we don't have a big golf tournament. I I just started learning how to play golf, so I'm gonna add that in. I keep hearing about golf tournaments, so we will add that in, but we do a big bunch brunch fundraiser because we do a three-day weekend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And so Sunday ⁓ for the weekend, we end it off with a big brunch. 'Cause I w I d I I everybody does galas. And you know, I'm not just wanting to do something different. I ain't wanna make people wait tonight and dress up and do it. And so, you know, for us we do a brunch. It basically a gala brunch. And so, you know, and and turn it into a little day party afterwards and where we ⁓ raise funds. And so ⁓ that's always a part of the LM thirty nine weekend. But like I said, you can always go to the foundation and donate in any time, big or small. ⁓ we appreciate it all. Yeah. Appreciate the help. For sure, for sure. And I gotta ask, man, how in the hell does golf help your mental well-being? Because it makes me like happy Gilmore out there. I I have never been so frustrated in my whole life. Like and people are like, You're just gonna be bad for like a year. And I'm like, I don't wanna do this. I heard you I heard you gotta just we gotta weather the storm because listen, I'm not as good as either. So ⁓ and so for me too, it's just Just really just ⁓ networking you can do on the golf course. Just the time spent out there ⁓ is relaxing. And then you know when you play foursome, I'm not out here trying to be Tiger Woods. We ain't never gotta use my ball. You know. Yeah. I mean, so you're not gonna have like a golf line come out, is what you're saying. ⁓ no, got it. No, I'm telling you, it is the most frustrating shit of my life. Like I I thought and I'm blaming the clubs. I'm buying new clubs all the time. It isn't the clubs. You know, I'm spending all this money on all this gear because think I'm thinking it'll help. Bought a rangefinder. Don't even fucking know how to use the range finder, but I think it's gonna help me, you know? And it's like, damn, dude, people are saying that this is great for your mental health. And there's nothing that drives me crazier than just being bad at something and ⁓ For sure. And it just shows me that you you know, you still got a little competitive edge in you. do that is and so Like I say, for me, you know, I just go out there and have fun. Win lose a draw. I know this is not I'm not trying to go professional with it. I listen, i I'm playing a force ⁓ just out there just really just wasting time and I just know like anything else, you know, after practice, I ain't gonna be bad for long. Just because I know the type of person I am, just the the athlete in me, the competitor in me, you know what I'm saying? I'm not just gonna be bad. Now will I become great? Probably not. ⁓ but I would be okay. To hold my own. What's your favorite golf gear to wear? Like your sh favorite clo like you can get pretty swaggy out there. ⁓ so so I only I've been to I I did golf twice. I did two golf tournaments and so I don't I I haven't got that I haven't got that deep into it yet. Okay. I think w I went out there in regular streak ⁓ street clothes. Love it with some Air Max on and some shorts and a T shirt and I say, ⁓ I don't think this the right golf attire but hey, it's gonna work for today. ⁓ But I definitely wanna really do learn how to play golf. ⁓ 'cause I I I I I do see why people it it is fun. You do gotta have a little patience and I can see why people like it. I'm just not good at it yet, but ⁓ I did hit a good drive for the first time. ⁓ I think I hit it like two hundred and fifty yards. So listen, that that was my eye hearts. I hit the ball good one time out the eighteen yellows. ⁓ nobody can tell me nothing. I no, I'm dying. I like so Jordan one time, I like one of my favorite interviews was when he says, ⁓ you know, golf is or no, basketball's my passion, but golf is my addiction. So football was obviously your passion. So what's what would you say your addiction is? ⁓ I ain't gonna lie, it sounds shaddish, but probably like video games. I think I need to just learn how to make one. Okay. Like a Madden or what? Either one, any game, like just a video game, just g like when I can give me about a hour, just a little a mental reset, two K, nading, Call of Duty, ⁓ tennis, golf. I pl listen, I play ⁓ all. I do it all. I love it. I So if you were gonna like if you could meet anybody right now and have a conversation with them and have lunch with them, who would you totally fangirl over or fanboy, I guess, over? ⁓ Honestly the the makers of EA sports, 'cause I really want to learn how to make a game. You know what I'm saying? I I feel like I played a game so much and I didn't donate it so much money into this gaming world, I need to figure out how can I get some back out of it. Okay. Okay and I believe and I have some ideas how on how to make it better. I I'm one of those I done did it for so long and I think they just try to make it too realistic and they taking the fun of a video game away from the game. Next what next time I'm in St. Louis, if I see some dude with the those damn goggles on it with the dreads, I'm gonna be like, Lawrence? Is that you? Yeah, listen, for sure. Listen, I'm gonna tell you, I I found found my way into the tech world. ⁓ okay. Okay. I love it. You're like a nerd like me, deep down. Listen, for sure. You know, I I didn't spend so much time in it. I might as well figure out how to get all the way involved in it. Yeah, okay. I've got I've got a last test for you since you work with kids all the time. Okay. My kids think I'm the lamest person on the planet, but maybe you are cooler than me. And this is the Gen Z versus Lawrence Moroni. And you can tell me if you know what any of these things mean. Okay. Okay. Okay. What is NPC? Something to do with a a computer, probably. I don't know. NPC like the like a box. Like a bot? Yeah, so this is yeah, so I guess the kids are saying this when somebody's acting robotic or basic. This is the slang in PC. Okay. What's touch grass? That's a new one. I don't know that. I don't either I don't know that word. Yeah, they say it's go like you get outside, get get get a life, essentially. Get outside. so you know. So you know. Okay. So op, you know what that is? The pony. Yeah. The rival or enemy. ⁓ my gosh. ⁓ my gosh. These are so st okay. Phantom tax. Do you know what that is? Not at all. Okay. Yeah. I mean stealing a friend's food is what they call phantom taxing. Just so you know. If the kids say it, you know they're not gonna stole some food. Yeah, they stole some food. It's phantom tax. Okay. ⁓ what's a guillot? Giot? Do you know what guillot is? No, I don't know that one either. ⁓ my gosh. That's a Is it is it like a cuss word? Like get your ass. Like instance I'm going down the right road. I well, ⁓ wait, a guy. ⁓ my gosh. I think it's a fat ass is what a guy is. Just ⁓ wait, ⁓ maybe I'm not saying that right. Maybe I'm saying that in- Wait it g-y-a-t-t or something? Yeah, am I saying that wrong? I don't I never knew how to pronounce it. ⁓ yeah. Okay, so Giat is a Is a fat ass in case somebody says it. And if somebody refers to somebody as an Ohio, do you know what that means? Not at all. So something is weird, random, or absurd, and they call it an Ohio. What are they trying to say about Ohio? I guess Ohio is super random. I don't know. ⁓ the last one, okay. Do you know what Shreking is? ⁓ my god, this is awful. ⁓ my god. Not at all. Shreking. You date somebody a lot less attractive than you because Fiona. Because they'll treat you well. ⁓ wow. So if somebody's Shreking, they're dating somebody that's uglier than them because they're nice to able to cheat to them. They're nice to ⁓ Why? Yeah, that that's Shreking. Yeah. ⁓ my God. Well a lot of people would be Shrekking, I guess, in these days. I mean, you know You know, Fiona and Shrek seem pretty happy, so it's all good. It's all good. I am so so happy that you joined us today. And ⁓ it's been so nice to meet you and then I got somebody rep in Missouri finally. My God, it's with me forever. 314 is in the building. I love it. I love it. Yeah. So ⁓ next time I'm in St. Louis, I'm gonna be looking for the guy with the goggles on. Yeah, just give me a shout. We can definitely go go get out get outside and go touch grass. Touch stress. Yes. Yes. I love it. ⁓ man. Well, thank you so much for coming on, Lawrence. Let's raise a shit ton of money for Lawrence's foundation because he's doing some awesome things. So, ⁓ you know, if you ever need anything, man, we're just, you know, a phone call away. For sure, no. Thank you. Yeah. We'll talk soon, buddy. All right. Bye. And that's the giving game. If today's episode hits close to home for you, the donation link for this athlete's charity will be in the description below. And if you can't donate right now, hey, that's okay too. Just do something kind for somebody today. The world needs more of that. See you next time.