Baltimore Ravens’ safety player Kyle Hamilton unboxes the “Our Military Kids” cleats for the first time on Nov. 26, 2024 as part of this NFL season’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign. He will be wearing the cleats during the Ravens’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore, Md., on Dec. 1, 2024. (USAA)
Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton wears his heart on his feet with cleats designed to show support for military children as part of this NFL season’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign.
During weeks 13 and 14 of the NFL season, “My Cause My Cleats” gives players the opportunity to pick a cause that is important to them and represent their chosen organization on custom designed cleats.
The cleats, designed by Marcus Rivero from Soles by Sir, were unveiled to Hamilton on Tuesday morning for the first time. Hamilton will be wearing his custom cleats on Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore, Md.
The custom designed “Our Military Kids” cleats are unveiled on Nov. 26, 2024. Baltimore Ravens’ safety player Kyle Hamilton will be wearing the cleats during the Ravens’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore, Md., on Dec. 1, 2024. (USAA)
The custom designed “Our Military Kids” cleats are unveiled on Nov. 26, 2024. Baltimore Ravens’ safety player Kyle Hamilton will be wearing the cleats during the Ravens’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore, Md., on Dec. 1, 2024. (USAA)
The custom designed “Our Military Kids” cleats are unveiled on Nov. 26, 2024. Baltimore Ravens’ safety player Kyle Hamilton will be wearing the cleats during the Ravens’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore, Md., on Dec. 1, 2024. (USAA)
“I’ve always had an utmost respect for the military and military families as well,” said Hamilton. “The military is underappreciated in a sense ... what they do on a daily basis ... here and abroad ... they keep us free, and keep us able to play football or whatever that may be ... .”
Hamilton partnered with USAA, an official Salute to Service partner of the Baltimore Ravens, to honor Our Military Kids, an organization that recognizes the sacrifices, and offers grants to children of deployed, or combat-injured service members.
“...We pay for their extra-curricular activities during a time that’s pretty stressful to have mom or dad gone on deployment or recovering from combat injuries,” said Kara Dallman in an Instagram video, Executive Director of Our Military Kids.
One cleat honors Our Military Kids, dedicated with the organization’s logo and a picture of kids playing together. The other cleat honors the different branches of the military with logos of each service’s name. The quote ‘Keep Going,’ a phrase used by the team to encourage grit and perseverance, is also printed on the cleats.
USAA helped Hamilton put his cause into action by coordinating a surprise for several local military kids from the Baltimore area on Oct. 14 at the Ravens’ practice facility. The kids, ages 7 to 14, spent about an hour playing football and basketball with Hamilton. He said he had fun seeing all the competition between the kids that day.
“Once we got to the football field, they were competing with each other a lot ... it reminded them that we [NFL players] are just normal guys at the end of the day,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton does not have any personal military background, but his grandfather is an Army veteran. His mom was raised as a military child who lived in South Korea and several military bases across the United States. From being exposed to his mom’s upbringing, Hamilton understands the unique challenges military children face throughout their lives.
Hamilton has a previous history of giving back to military families and plans to continue finding ways to give back to them with youth camps.
