We’ve heard all about the allegedly big, bad world of NIL in college sports.
How about a story about the little, good world?
About a small act of kindness going a long way?
In any case, Michigan State pitcher Joseph Dzierwa — an Otsego High School graduate — did a pretty cool thing last week.
The Spartans’ sophomore star pledged to donate a chunk of his newly signed NIL deal to Knights Have Your Back, a program that provides Otsego children in need with nonperishable food to take home over the weekend.
It’s a cause he championed throughout high school and, now that he’s enjoying success in college, he called it an honor to give back.
“Knights Have Your Back meant a lot to me,” Dzierwa said. “I did it every week. I just wanted to do something for the community because they’ve been so good to me.”
No matter what you think of the NIL era or the turnstile gates of the transfer portal — and, no, they’re not ruining college sports (leave that to conference consolidation) — these are the stories we don’t hear enough about.
There’s a lot of good out there, be it the deeds that get the headlines — say, Michigan star running back Blake Corum using his NIL proceeds to purchase and deliver hundreds of Thanksgiving turkeys to disadvantaged families or former Iowa offensive lineman Tyler Linderbaum donating his NIL earnings ($30,000) to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital — or the many that do not.
To those in Otsego, Dzierwa’s example is no surprise.
Most of us know him for his athletic feats, and for good reason. Dzierwa was a three-sport star in high school and hit the ground sprinting at Michigan State last season. The 6-7 left-hander became the Spartans’ starter on Friday nights — when teams traditionally throw their ace — and made the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
But his influence has always transcended the field.
In Otsego, the big man on campus had one of the school’s biggest hearts, too.
With Knights Have Your Back, he was there every week for all for four years of high school. Dzierwa and other student volunteers helped Jessica Vollmar — a teacher who leads the program — purchase, package, and deliver food for about 25 students at Otsego Elementary School.
“He always wanted to help,” Vollmar said. “I was able to watch him develop from the time he was a freshman to a senior and the empathy and bigger understanding of the world that he continued to show, by the time he was a senior, he had a great willingness to go out there and help make positive changes.
“With his help, we were able to open a food bank on campus. He came to me one day and said, ‘How about if we raise $1,000 I'll let somebody put a pie in my face?’ So he got pie in the face at lunch one day. ... He always went above and beyond.”
And he hasn’t stopped.
When Dzierwa signed his deal with the MSU collective This is Sparta! — a fund within the non-profit Charitable Gift America — he thought immediately of Knights Have Your Back.
“This just touches my heart,” Vollmar said.
Dzierwa would say the same.
“Just being able to give back to the Otsego community and having an opportunity not many kids do,” he said, “I was really happy.”
First Published August 20, 2023, 9:34 p.m.
