Former ASU safety David Fulcher walked to his porch in Cincinnati after his doorbell rang, picked up a package and handed it to his wife.
She opened the top, shut it, then told Fulcher it was for him. As he grabbed the package, she got out her phone and started taking a video.
The package had a College Football Hall of Fame football and a note alerting Fulcher that after spending more than a decade on the ballot, the former Sun Devil was named a part of the 2021 class and will be inducted on Dec. 7.
“When I saw the football I was like ‘Oh, my gosh, is this really it?'" Fulcher said.
Fulcher pointed out he felt like a Hall of Famer once he started receiving congratulatory phone calls, including former teammate Darryl Harris, current ASU football head coach Herm Edwards, Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson and an old friend of his, special assistant to the head coach and former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
The newly elected Hall of Famer was also congratulated by Antwan Staley, a man whose life Fulcher helped turn around.
Staley was arrested for two aggravated robberies in the '90s, he said. Fulcher visited and spoke to Staley every day for multiple years. When Staley got out of jail, Fulcher introduced him to a new job, and Staley started a new life; he saw his two daughters grow up.
Soon after his release, Staley joined Fulcher to lend a helping hand with a program he began in 2000, which eventually became Mentoring Against Negative Actions in 2011.
Fulcher's work with MANA involves him visiting jails in the Cincinnati area to talk with incarcerated people to help them plan their lives once they are free. Fulcher also works with local companies that are willing to hire people with criminal records.
“I made it out of that situation, and it was only right for me to show people how to do it,” Staley said. “Dave helped me along the way, but ... I felt obligated to show people a different side of things.”
Staley said the reason Fulcher’s involvement was effective was due to his relatable life experiences and perspectives compared to the people who would usually visit inmates.
“It was just a lot of PowerPoint presentations; we got this older white guy trying to tell us, 'Hey, be like this,’" Staley said. "(Fulcher) slides in, a football player in there. People were like, ‘He doesn't know, he’s got money, he doesn't know our struggle.'
“He gave us his story, before football, and the dynamics of that is what really got everybody tuned in to him," Staley said. "His presence, it changed a lot.”
Fulcher grew up in South Central Los Angeles during the 1970s, in what he called the “heart of drugs and crime.” But Fulcher had a strong family foundation with his mother and father at home, something he said was a huge difference between him and many of the inmates he worked with.
Fulcher didn't have a desire to join a gang or want to sell drugs. He wanted to play football, the sport he loved, and his athleticism and abilities led him to ASU and eventually the NFL.
As Lewis pointed out, “(Fulcher) realized he was blessed to come out of South Central (Los Angeles) and come to ASU.”
With that fortune, Fulcher felt like it was important to listen to those who did not have the stability he had in his younger life.
“We all make mistakes, but some people make mistakes that cost them their lives, make mistakes that may cost them time with their families,” Fulcher said. “We're all human. And we all have one goal in life: to be better people. So how do we help people become better people if we don't listen to them?”
Before Fulcher aided Staley, Fulcher once visited Hamilton County Justice Center to drop off homework for a student who was recently arrested. A sheriff at the jail who knew Fulcher later asked him if he could form a program to help educate inmates, which eventually led to the creation of the program that eventually became MANA.
The student struggled to stay out of jail and was eventually sentenced to 10 years for drug trafficking. The situation devastated Fulcher, but it motivated him to try to make a bigger impact on people in the justice system, leading him to help Staley and many others.
“That young man gave me the inspiration to never leave him behind," Fulcher said. "And don't leave somebody behind just because of what they did. Let's move forward for the things that they're going to do.”
Lewis worked with Fulcher in community events and alumni games in Cincinnati frequently and went to Hamilton County Justice Center to speak with inmates one day.
“He’s done a great job,” Lewis said. "It’s great for David to be lending time to be helpful and show the inmates that when they get out, there’s another way.”
When Fulcher walked into the Butler County Jail, another institution he works with, after his Hall of Fame election was announced, he was greeted by applause and congratulations from inmates.
Being a Hall of Famer won't change how Fulcher spends his time, but with the added attention paid to him after the announcement, he had a message.
“I love the opportunity to change the way somebody thinks,” Fulcher said. “I just think that if I get people's attention, that just maybe, just maybe, in this world, we can all make a difference.”
Reach the reporter at alexjweiner@gmail.com and follow @alexjweiner on Twitter.
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