Hines Ward

Hines Ward is perhaps the greatest wide receiver in Steelers' history and certainly the best blocking wide receiver in NFL history. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion; the MVP of Super Bowl XL; a four-time pro bowler; the all-time team leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns; the only receiver in Steelers history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for four straight seasons; was named to the Steelers' 75th Season All-Time Team; and owns every receiving record in franchise history.

Ward is currently the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. Aside from his career in the NFL, Ward has appeared in various forms of film and television media, including the reality TV series Dancing With The Stars and brief cameos in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises and in the television series The Walking Dead. He was a studio analyst for NBC's Football Night in America from 2012 to 2015. Ward joined CNN and HLN in May 2016. He was the player relations executive of the Alliance of American Football. In 2019, Ward began his coaching career as an offensive assistant for the New York Jets, working with wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. In 2021, Ward was hired by Florida Atlantic as special assistant to the head coach.

Born in South Korea to a Korean mother and an African American father, Ward was raised in the Atlanta area by his single mom, Young-He Ward, who managed to provide for her son despite coming to the US without any friends and not knowing English. In recognition of his mother's sacrifice, he would embody that sense of determination throughout his life.

In 2006, Ward returned to South Korea for the first time since he moved to the US and spent two months there on a mission to use his celebrity status to encourage social and political reform in the country, focusing on the discrimination that mixed-racial children endure there. On his final day in South Korea, he donated $1 million to create the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation to further that cause.

Passionate about speaking out against mixed-race discrimination, Hines Ward discusses his multi-racial upbringing as well as his current efforts with audiences around the country. He also speaks about his seasoned football career - in which he had to overcome various injuries - and his work with various charitable organizations.