Kedric Golston is in the middle of his 10th season with the Washington Redskins, the only organization he has known. He is a player, a businessman and a future sports talk radio host. This Sunday, he’ll play in a stadium in which he accomplished something unique the last time he was there.
Q: How important is it for you to end your career or time here in a successful way?
A: “It’s been truly a blessing to be drafted here in 2006 by Joe Gibbs, to be able to play for him. When you are some place for so long, not only have I been a member of this team, now I am part of this community, I live here year-round. You always want to leave something better and you always want to be part of the solution and not the problem. When I leave this organization, leave it on a high note of competing year in and year out in a successful way. That’s always been something that really drives me to do my best here and to be a part of the solution.”
Q: What defines you as a man and as a football player?
A: “My relationship with Christ, I think, defines me. … It’s what I strive to be each and every day. Consistency — I think no matter who has coached me or who the head coach is, they would say he’s been consistent throughout his career. That is something you can never take for granted no matter what area of life you choose. People know what they are going to get out of you. They can expect and be sure what they are going to get out of you. I think consistency has been the main thing.”
Q: Ten years in the NFL, how do you keep your body going strong?
A: “You have to work. You have to continue to put the work in, in the offseason. You’ve got to prepare to stand up to the grind of the season. Never take anything for granted. Each and every day to be professional and to go out and compete at a high level. The one thing about this game is when you are out on that field, the guy beside you doesn’t care if you are injured. The guy in front of you doesn’t care. If you are out there, you are expected to play at a high level, and so don’t ever feel sorry for yourself. When you’re out on that field, you have to compete at a high level.”
Q: How important has versatility been in your career?
A: “I think there are starters in this league, and I’ve started 50-plus games in my career, but when you’re a rotational swing lineman, you essentially back up every single position. I’ve played in games where I’ve literally played every position on the defensive line. You have to understand your role on the team and embrace it. You have to understand that everybody wants to be the starter and wants to be the man. What is your role on that team in order for that team to be successful? It’s something you embrace and you work on it. You never take the reps for granted whenever they put you out [there], whether it’s something you practiced or you didn’t practice. They’re putting you out there because they trust you to do the job. You take pride in that.”
Q: Was your best moment with the Redskins winning the division in 2012?
A: “That was really special. It was special to be 3-6 and to get on a seven-game winning streak and that was a lot of fun. So many moments that have happened throughout my career that maybe have been off the field, related to the Redskins organization. I came here as a 22-year old man and now I am a 32 now. I spent a huge chunk [of time] and turned into a man in this locker room, in this community and in this town. That’s something I don’t take for granted.”
Q: What is going to be the hardest part when your career is over?
A: “You can never take for granted what you have here. The locker room atmosphere is something that a lot of people want. I love my wife and my kids and that’s something near and dear to my heart. It’s something that I’ve done … I’ve never missed a year of football since the seventh grade. Now, when that’s done, hopefully no time soon, now you have what, four, five, six months, now that it’s just free where before that football that was dedicated to that. Now you have to figure out what to do with your time.
“I love football. It’s taught me a lot of life lessons about being consistent, hardworking, determination, resilient. You take those and try to apply those when you make that next step and turn that page in life.”
Q: What does your future look like?
A: “My wife and I have a very successful real estate company and she works countless hours to make it what it has become and I support her in that. Sports is a big part of my life and I know what people have instilled in me. Coaches, teachers, neighbors, friends and family — for me to be where I am at today, it’s something I don’t want to hold inside of me. All that wisdom and knowledge that people have taught me, I want to let that out. Speaking in young people’s lives, to help them to achieve their goals and that’s not just about becoming a professional athlete. This game can teach you a lot of things to be successful in a lot of different areas. I guess just giving back to my community.”
“If I can get one of these chairs in the sports media talk [industry] it’s something I have a lot of respect for the people that do that. It’s not easy to do shows and do interviews and it would almost be like another dream come true to say the least.”
Q: You want to take my job?
A: “I don’t want to take your job. I want to enhance it. I figure in your business — one is called the talent. You keep the show going and I’ll be the talent.”
Q: Last year, you got to do something cool with your kids and your alma mater, Georgia, at a stadium you will play at this Sunday. Can you tell that story?
A: “I’ve been gone from Georgia for 10 years and never had the opportunity to get back to a game. Our season ended. That next day we had exit physicals. The Bulldogs played in Charlotte on that Wednesday. That Tuesday, me and boys drove to Charlotte [to] Joe Gibbs Racing and I got to see one of my ex-teammates, Renaldo [Wynn], he’s working on Game Plan For Life [a men’s outreach ministry]. We got a hotel room that Tuesday night. I didn’t want to stand on the sideline. We walked to the stadium, we tailgated, and we got our face painted. We stayed in the stands. We rooted and had fun. For me to be back in that atmosphere, it was refreshing. It was really an emotional experience to see my kids in that setting. It really made me think about the decisions that I made when I was out there on that field in college affected them, even though they didn’t exist. It was almost a surreal moment. You never know what life is going to throw at you. The decisions you make today, directly affect things that you have no idea about in the future.”
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