Rainier Beach High School Students Welcome Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon 

Students at Rainier Beach High School greeted Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon with a big round of applause as he took to the auditorium stage, donned in his gold Hall of Fame jacket, to be interviewed for a recent episode of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s “Heart of a Hall of Famer” You Tube series.  

Heart of a Hall of Famer is an educational outreach program that provides students the opportunity to learn first-hand what it took beyond athletic ability for legendary Hall of Famers to achieve success on and off the football field. The program focuses on the Hall of Fame values of commitment, integrity, courage, respect, and honesty. 

Moon told students the value that stands out to him the most is commitment. 

“Commitment meant a lot to me when I was very young because you had to be committed to this sport, you had to be committed to your education in order to be able to go to the next level,” he said. “You also have to have tremendous commitment in the classroom because that’s a vital part of moving forward.” 

The former University of Washington quarterback, who spent the bulk of his NFL career with the Houston Oilers, said he chose Rainier Beach as the backdrop for his interview because he has a lot of respect for the school. He said he has followed the school’s rich sports history, which includes the likes of Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Dejounte Murray, and Kevin Porter Jr. He encouraged students who may be going through some tough times and uncertainty to pull inspiration from those who came before them. 

“Look at some of the guys who have been here and been successful and read their stories,” Moon said. “I guarantee you’ll find similarities there that they didn’t always know exactly what they wanted to do or were always sure about what they wanted to do and came through a lot of adversity … It’s no question, following the footsteps of the people who were right here in front of you at this school, can be people who are advantageous to you going forward.” 

Moon told students the biggest piece of advice he can give them is to believe in themselves.  

“Having belief in yourself, having faith in yourself, believing that you can do any and everything that you want to accomplish in life – I’m a perfect example of that,” he said. “I didn’t come from a whole lot, but I ended up being at the top pinnacle of what my profession was only because I did believe in myself, and I worked as hard as anybody that’s ever played this game.” 

Moon emphasized that if you put in the work, everything else will fall into place. 

“There’s nothing given to you in this world, you have to go out there and earn it all … but when you earn it, you will feel so much better about yourself.” 

Watch this episode of Heart of a Hall of Famer.