Minnesota Vikings legends Alan Page and Gene Washington were part of a panel discussion at The Best Academy in honor of Black History Month.
Fans of the Minnesota Vikings have seen many great players come and go over the years. Two of the best players ever to suit up for the franchise are defensive tackle Alan Page and wide receiver Gene Washington.
Both Page and Washington are members of the 50 Greatest Vikings of all time, first round draft picks in 1967, and were members of the 1969 team which won the NFL Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns by a score of 27-7 under head coach Bud Grant.
The two former Vikings who worked to complete their college degrees while playing are still very active in their communities and took the time to visit The Best Academy to be part of a panel discussion in honor of Black History Month according to the official website of the Minnesota Vikings.
More from The Viking Age
- 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history
- Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North
- Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take
- 6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023
- Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022
The panel was hosted by Lea B. Olsen, broadcaster and founder of “Rethink the Win”. The discussion was primarily about sources of inspiration and what some of the techniques they have used on their road to success are.
"“I noticed that they’re very concerned about their education and are very into that,” Washington said. “I think that’s very necessary, to be able to stand up and share your feelings about black history and understand how important black history is, so it was a wonderful day of spending time with the kids.”"
The students at the panel assembly took part in the 306: African-American History digital course which is “framed to teach the importance of civic engagement so that students develop into future community leaders.”
"“The young children we talked to are always inspiring to me. It’s interesting — we tend to think that they aren’t sort of connected to the past, but certainly with the 306 course, the young people that I spent time with are very connected to the past and understand that past is really insight into the future, and they will carry that forward with them. It was kind of an exciting day.”"
Next: Vikings season ticket prices increase for 2018
It’s great for players like Alan Page and Gene Washington to take time out of their schedule to visit students to talk about the importance of continuing their education and pushing themselves to be their very best.