Staff report
SALISBURY — The main sporting event last Friday night was the retirement of Jalon Walker’s No. 11 football jersey at Salisbury High.
Walker was known mostly for his football deeds, but he returned triumphantly to a full basketball gym where he once staged a number of personal block parties. His basketball defense helped him win a Darrell Misenheimer Award as Rowan County Male Athlete of the Year.
A first-round draft pick after starring at the University of Georgia, Walker overcame a groin injury and recently wrapped up a fine rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons, accounting for 5.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits and 36 tackles.
The football field is part of the reason he had his jersey retired as a 21-year-old.
The other part is he had an even better winter as a human being than as an NFL athlete. Locally, the Jalon Walker Foundation provided a lot of winter coats for Christmas as well as a lot of Thanksgiving turkeys for those less fortunate.
Walker also has stayed busy in the Atlanta community, whether he’s been leading coat drives, donating his cleats to raise awareness of Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita or singing Christmas carols and delivering toys at a children’s hospital.
This was Walker’s first jersey retirement, but it may not be the last.
