Goldman Sachs Talks

Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin, NFL Players

NFL players Shaquill and Shaquem Griffin discuss the story behind Shaquem’s extraordinary efforts to become the first one-handed player in the modern NFL and the work they are doing to inspire inclusivity in sports.

Shaquem Griffin on his limb difference: “It just made me more determined to show people what I really can do and kind of prove everybody wrong. I think, in my case, I could’ve [taken] it either way. Having that negativity brought on top of me, either I can turn [it] into a positive or I can allow somebody to dictate who I was going to be and what I can do. And every time I dealt with negativity – somebody telling me what I can and cannot do, I took it upon myself and just showed them and it always felt better to prove somebody wrong.”

Shaquill Griffin on his mindset on the field: “I feel like my goals are just to become a better teammate, a better player and not focus on the individual stats. I feel like if I can do whatever it takes to help my team win the next game, we do it one game at a time, I feel like the stats and everything will come along with it. So, I feel like we have to be selfless when it comes to this next season.”