Kevin Warren - Chief Operating Officer Minnesota Viking
In 2015 Kevin Warren became the first African-Americas chief operating officer of an NFL team. He is a lawyer by education and got his first job in the NFL in 1997 when he was hired by Dick Vermeil in a legal front office position. He earned a super Bowl ring with the Rams in 1999. He became interested in sports at an early age, which he attributes to members of his family. His father, the late Dr. Morrison Warren, Sr., played professional football for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948. His eldest brother, Morrison Warren, Jr., played football at Stanford in the early 1960s, and was one of the first African-American scholarship student-athletes at Stanford. When Kevin was around 12 years old he struck by a car and forced into traction and a body cast for many months. Doctors informed Warren that there was a chance he might not walk again, and therefore it was highly unlikely that he would ever fulfill any dreams he had of playing sports. Kevin used the money he received in his settled over the accident to build a pool in his family's backyard. Aided by his dedication to swimming, Warren recovered and went on to be recruited to play college basketball. After representing the Vikings’ new ownership group in their purchase of the team, the Vikings then hired Warren as their Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer in 2005. This is his story. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/linklete/support