It’s customary for players who want a teammate’s jersey number to have to cough up a pretty penny. But for Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux, he was asked to make a donation to special cause if he wanted his No. 5 in New York, and he did just that.
Thibodeaux, who wore the No. 5 at Oregon, was selected with the No. 5 pick in this year’s NFL draft but kicker Graham Gano already had the jersey number. But he worked out a deal for the jersey and Thibodeaux followed through. He donated $50,000 to Puppies Behind Bars, which provides service dogs for wounded war veterans and first responders, in addition to explosive-detection canines for law enforcement.
“When he said he was willing to give to that, I can be No. 9 and maybe in 10-15 years when he retires and I’m still kicking, I can get No. 5 back,” Gano told Giants.com. “The opportunity to give to something is exciting, and the number is obviously very special to Kayvon. While it is special to me as well, there’s a whole lot of meaning in that No. 5 to him. I just wanted to be a good teammate and also be able to support others throughout the whole process.”
Gano comes from a military family and the organization is special to him.
“I feel like it was where the money that Kayvon was donating would be able to make the largest impact and help the most people throughout him giving that money,” Gano said. “The whole idea behind the number five being special to myself and being special to Kayvon was being able to help five people get the five dogs and be able to make an impact in five people’s lives for the better. That was the whole goal behind that. I’m really excited about it.”
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