(S28) PT 5 - Helping Out

[qWest]

For Tatsu Nakamura, one of the most important parts of being a professional athlete is spending the time to give back to the communities that help him to be able to play the sport he loves for a living. Perhaps the most important part of that community for Nakamura is the often under-looked and under-represented Asian and Asian American communities. Growing up, Nakamura never really was able to see himself in the professional athletes that he saw on American TV and, as he's worked hard to break into the sports world, he's had to extra hard to break through Asian stereotypes and Asian hate. Nakamura's life's work outside of football is to try to break through and stomp out that hate as best as he can with his platform. On top of working with social justice organizations like the ACLU to seek institutional change and justice, Nakamura often goes into his community directly, working alongside other prominent Asian athletes in the ISFL like William Lim and Kai Sakura to interact with young Asian and Asian American students across the country and to be a positive voice to be encourage them to reach out and pursue their dreams. He's committed to helping more Asian and Asian American athletes break into the sport, and he often works with his foundation to support those athletes financially when needed. The N7 Foundation Youth Training Camps run every summer across the country to help achieve this dream as well.