Lions QB Matthew Stafford shows his giving side off the field
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By Jennifer Hammond FOX 2 Sports
FRANKLIN, Mich. (WJBK) -- After four years and nearly 12,000 yards passing, we're used to seeing Matthew Stafford throw touchdown passes. But this season, fans are seeing another side of the Detroit Lions quarterback.
"Hey, can I get one of those bibs with the lobster on it?" asks Stafford clad in an airbrushed mug shot t-shirt during his recent Monday Night Football commercial. "It's my new shirt."
Stafford has turned the shirt's popularity into a giving campaign by matching funds for every one sold and giving it to Haven, a domestic violence shelter in Pontiac. "They could get that goofy shirt, but at the same time, they're helping somebody out," says Stafford.
Helping out is something Stafford learned growing up, feeding families through Meals on Wheels with his parents. These days, he and girlfriend Kelly Hall, give back on a weekly basis and they're regulars on the team's annual Christmas shopping spree. "My first year I was really just trying to get my feet on the ground and worry about football," says Stafford. "But once I got comfortable in the community, and with my job with Lions, opportunities arose to give back."
"The thing that I think I'm most proud of is that he's the same kid that I met in college," says Hall. "He's not changed one bit. Nothing's gone to his head."
As hard as this season has been, Stafford hasn't changed his ways on or off the field. "It's more fun when you're winning football games than when you're losing them, but at the same time, it's your responsibility as a leader of the team to make sure that you're not hiding away," says Stafford.
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