Patriots Wide Receiver Says Winning The Super Bowl Isn't His Proudest Achievement

Good role models are hard to come by. It's easy enough for kids to idolize a guy who can catch a football or nail a three-pointer, and it's great for kids to dream about winning championships or hitting home runs, but how many parents would want their kids to imitate their heroes' conduct off the field? That's where things get trickier. However, if you had to pick a pro football hero, you could do much worse than Malcolm Mitchell. 

Something strange happened at Media Day for Super Bowl LI when reporters talked to New England Patriots wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.

Instead of giving the same old tired clichés, Malcolm wanted to talk about books. And, as he has admitted, that wasn't always the case. 

When he started college, he could only read at a junior high level. Malcolm worked at his reading as hard as he worked on the field, eventually becoming the guy who always had a book in his hand when he wasn't at practice.

One day, when he was in Barnes & Noble, he got to talking about books with a woman who ended up inviting him to her book club, not realizing he was a famous football player. He joined and still attends – and he doesn't care that he's by far the youngest or that he's the only man in the club.

Malcolm has even taken his love of reading to the point of writing his own book, a kids' book called The Magician's Hat.

It's his way of spreading his love of reading to a new generation and being a role model both on and off the field. He has even started his own children's literacy foundation, Read with Malcolm.

Obviously he's happy to be a Super Bowl champion, but Malcolm says football will never be his proudest achievement. "That came natural. That's a gift. I had to work to read," he says. 

Whether on the gridiron or off it, kids can look to Malcolm as an inspiration, because he's a winner either way. 

h/t CBS News

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