Derrick Brooks is the Anti-Pacman

With NFL headlines being dominated lately by the likes of Pacman Jones, Chris Henry and various other players getting in trouble with the law, we should probably take a minute to recognize at least one NFL player doing something worthwhile in his community.

Like opening a school. That's what Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks is doing this offseason. He's overseeing the building of Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School, the first college prep charter school in Tampa, from the ground up. Reporters joked with him about the fact that it won't field any sports teams for its first few years of existence. Brooks' goal is simple -- to know the names of all 300 students and make sure every last one of them gets into college.

Brooks has always been a civic-minded fellow. In addition to opening the school, he's also serving as the chair to Florida Governor Charlie Crist's new council on physical fitness. He's teaming up with a bunch of athletes -- including Shaquille O'Neal, Ken Griffey Jr., Jennifer Capriati and Colts defensive end Corey Simon -- to "develop a state plan of action to increase Floridians' levels of physical fitness through regular exercise and sound nutritional practices." That plan is intended to reduce obesity in Florida within the next ten years.

As they say in Australia, "Good on ya, Mr. Brooks."

The sad thing is that there are probably more guys like Brooks in the NFL than guys like Jones and Henry, but Brooks doesn't sell newspapers.

Previously at the FanHouse:
Las Vegas Police Want Pacman Jones Charged With Felony
Chris Henry Keeps Fighting the Law; Law Still Comfortably Ahead
Jacksonville Paper's Stories on Jaguars' Arrests Called Racist