New Orleans Saints cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. has reminders tattooed on his body that signify the violence and despair he escaped in Gary. He’s not quitting on his home town, though.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.Pro football player and West Side Leadership Academy graduate Lonnie Johnson coaches during the 3rd Annual “Protect the Youth” Football Camp at his alma matter in Gary on June 10, 2023.
Johnson and 2014 Merrillville graduate Ryan Neal, who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and 2014 Thea Bowman Academy graduate Antonio Pipkin, a free agent quarterback in the Canadian Football League, led the drills with West Side coach Alger Boswell. Joining Johnson, 27, at his camp were wife Selena and their two daughters, Ayla, 3, and Alani, 2, and 2-month-old son, Aceyn.
His mother, Nora Johnson, said playing football was always her son’s vision. “He started at age 5 with football and track. Lonnie came by it naturally.”Her son played football, basketball and ran track. He won the state long jump title in 2014.The family grew up poor, but managed to sidestep the gnawing gun violence that still dogs the city.
Johnson has a rose tattoo on his right arm with “Daja” across it along with her birth date and the Aug. 2, 2015 day she died. Rodney Roberts, of Gary, pulls in a pass as Lennon Blake, of Michigan City, Indiana, defends during drills at the 3rd Annual “Protect the Youth” Football Camp on June 10, 2023.
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