I was a Heisman Trophy winner but refused to join NFL and quit for NBA Draft – now I’m a high-school coach
CHARLIE Ward is one of the greatest two-sport athletes ever.
The former college football star won the Heisman Trophy – and then went on to play in the NBA Finals.
At Florida State, Ward led the Seminoles to their first national championship in 1993 as the star quarterback.
Nine months earlier, he was the point guard for the school’s first team to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA men's basketball tournament since 1972.
Despite winning the Heisman Trophy, the 6-foot-2 Ward was projected to only be a third- or fouth-round NFL Draft pick due to his height.
Ward felt he deserved to be a first-round pick and decided to instead try his luck in the NBA, ironically a sport for very tall athletes.
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In 1994, Ward was selected with the 26th-overall pick of the NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.
As such, Ward became the first Heisman Trophy winner in the Super Bowl era to never play in the NFL.
He also became the first Heisman Trophy winner to play in the NBA.
Ward was even twice selected in the MLB draft – by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1993 and the New York Yankees in 1994 – despite not playing college baseball.
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"It still sounds crazy,” Ward told the Washington Post.
“You never know what your life may turn out to be or what opportunities may come your way.”
Ward says he has no bitterness over not playing professionally in his best sport.
“I was grateful for it because that meant I didn’t have to choose between a sport,” Ward said.
“Some of my family were a little upset, but I knew.
"A Black quarterback at that time wasn’t going to dictate to billionaires.
"That wasn’t happening. We have to live with it.”
Ward did not look back once he reached the NBA, playing 10-years for the Knicks followed by brief spells in the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
He even helped the Knicks reach the 1999 NBA Finals before falling to the Spurs.
After retiring, he coached high school football in Pensacola, Florida.
Since 2018, he has been a high school basketball coach at Florida High, leading the Seminoles to four district titles in four seasons.
"I'm grateful for all of it," Ward said.
"We've had some amazing teams, and I've just been blessed to have them.
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"In the years I've been here, we've helped groom them and the support I've been given here at Florida High has been great.
"I just want to do my part, like I always do, and make sure I don't mess it up."