Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was presented with the 44th annual Byron “Whizzer” White Award, the NFL Players Association’s (NFLPA) highest honor at the NFL PLAYERS Gala Featuring the JB Awards in Washington, D.C. The “Whizzer” White Award is presented annually to the player who serves his team, community and country in the spirit of Byron Raymond “Whizzer” White. The late Supreme Court Justice was a scholar, athlete, patriot, humanitarian and public servant – the personification of the ideal to which professional football players aspire.

“I kind of feel undeserving of this after hearing all of the things these men do because you play with them every Sunday, and you don’t know about it,” said Asomugha following the announcement. “This is a huge honor for me, so thank you. I wish I would’ve prepared a speech, but really, I’ve always just wanted to help people. I’ve never had a motive behind it and it wasn’t about winning awards or getting recognition. It was just something that was in me ever since I was a little kid.”

The Gala, held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, was hosted by James Brown, host of “THE NFL TODAY” on CBS. The NFL PLAYERS Gala recognizes NFL players for their individual contributions to their communities and is the biggest annual benefit for Special Olympics DC. It was the seventh consecutive year the NFLPA and NFL PLAYERS partnered with Brown to put on the event. The winner of the 2009 Byron “Whizzer” White Award, Brian Dawkins (Denver Broncos), presented Asomugha with the award.

“It was an honor to win the Whizzer award last year,” Dawkins said. “I actually couldn’t make the event itself, but my wife did an excellent job of accepting it on my behalf. I’m really glad that I was able to come to the Gala this time and present the award to the next player.”

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