S Donte Whitner (Buffalo Bills)

[Buckskin86]

Donte Whitner thinking pink this season
Reported by: Chuck Wade
Email: cwade@13wham.com
Last Update: 7/29

If you take a close look at Donte Whitner on the practice fields at St. John Fisher, you may notice something that seems a little out of place. Don't worry, everything is fine.

That pink mouthpiece that you see Whitner wearing symbolizes something quite special to the Bills safety. "It's pink. My grandmother died from cancer in March. I wear that to signify my love for her, my support to everybody that's dealing with, or has a loved one that's died from cancer, so I'll continue to wear throughout the football season."

It's also Whitner's way of saying thank you to one of the people who helped guide his path all the way to the Buffalo Bills. "She was a second mom to me. I didn't have a dad growing up, it was my mom and grandmother growing up, and I continue to wear that mouthpiece."

Donte Whitner thinking pink this season - 13WHAM.com - Rochester News, Weather, and Sports


video...

Local - 13WHAM.com - Rochester News, Weather, and Sports

Whitner on team?s playoff chances
Chris Brown
Posted July 29th, 2009

After making his playoff guarantee in 2008, Donte Whitner was asked what he thought about the squad this year and whether it was playoff caliber.

?Yeah, I think this is a playoff team, and everybody else around here has said it and I believe that,? said Whitner. ?We just have to put the pieces together and continue to work hard together, continue to compete and most importantly, stay healthy and I believe we can make that run.?

Whitner on team’s playoff chances – Inside The Bills

[osucollegebuck]

Can't wait to see the new white throwbacks on the field!!!!!!!!

[Buckskin86]

Recapping week one of Buffalo Bills training camp
by Brian Galliford on Aug 2, 2009
Free Safety. Donte Whitner has seen every first-team rep here, and that's not likely to change for a long, long time. Buffalo's coaching staff is very anxious to get Jairus Byrd onto the field, but as he's currently on the PUP list recovering from sports hernia surgery, the idea that he'd line up next to Whitner as a starter is borderline absurd.

Recapping week one of Buffalo Bills training?camp - Buffalo Rumblings

[Buckskin86]

On Sunday, safety Donte Whitner had several youngsters from his alma mater, Cleveland's Glenville High, as his guests for the game.

The stipulation was each student had to have a 3.0 grade-point average or better to make the trip.

"My decision to do this came from when I was in high school I had a player who went to the school come back, took us to a game, let us walk on the field and really give us a glimpse of where you want to be in the future," Whitner said. "I think it will help a lot of them, even those who are struggling academically because I know they snuck some of those guys on the trip.

"But it will give the kids their first real-life glimpse of where you can be and what you can be if you do everything right. And it doesn't have to be football either. Whether it's being a doctor, lawyer or whatever, it's about working hard and not letting anything stand in the way of your goals."

Signing of No. 1 pick Maybin doesn't appear imminent : Sports : The Buffalo News

[osucollegebuck]

Donte with his pink mouthpiece showing breast cancer awareness in honor of his grandmother.

[Buckskin86]

Secondary Education
Chris Brown, Lead Journalist
Posted Aug 19, 2009

From the time Reggie Corner first set foot in the defensive backs meeting room, he?s sat in the front row. He never wanted to miss a word from position coach George Catavolos or defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.

He also wanted to make sure he sat next to one of the more astute teammates in class. One who knows secondary play and would be willing to share tips about how to line up and play against certain opponents. Donte Whitner was that choice.

During his rookie season Corner would pepper Whitner with questions and the safety would willingly provide answers.

?You don?t really want to force things on guys if they don?t want it,? said Whitner. ?Reggie from day one has asked me questions and he always sits next to me in the meeting rooms.

?He asks me questions about certain techniques and certain coverages. How he should play it. If he doesn?t see something or understand something he?ll ask me. He?s really been there the entire time.?

When Whitner would invite his teammates over to his home on Thursdays during the season last year to study film, again Corner sat in front. Both being Ohio natives, Corner and Whitner already had a common bond. Growing up an hour away from one another the two defensive backs had a lot of similar football experiences.

Secondary Education

[Buckskin86]

Whitner weeps, T.O. bolts, Bills bummed
Posted by Tom Curran on September 14, 2009

For us inkstained bandwidth-wasting wretches in the media, the loser's locker room always offers a little more human emotion.

And after a gut-twisting, 25-24 loss to the Patriots on Monday night, the Bills' locker room was about what you'd expect.


Miserable.

Donte Whitner, the Bills fourth-year safety, had a tear rolling down his cheek as he spoke.

"I wanted to shut everybody up who doesn't think we're a good football team," said Whitner, who finished with 10 tackles. "We had our opportunity. We wanted to win, we needed a win, we had a win. We let it go and it's tough. It's only the first game but we can't lose like this, we can't lose these games. Eleven=point lead, four minutes to go in the game and we lost it. . . . We did exactly what we expected to do in the first three-and-a-half quarters. We didn't care who their quarterback was."

Asked if he'd ever experienced a more difficult loss, Whitner said, "No. We had them."

Whitner weeps, T.O. bolts, Bills bummed | ProFootballTalk.com

[osucollegebuck]

Heres the video

Video Gallery

[3074326]

Pick 6.

[Buckskin86]

Published: September 20, 2009

TIM'S TAKE: Whitner lets play do talking against Bucs
By Tim Schmitt
Niagara Gazette

ORCHARD PARK ? Donte Whitner realized what had just come out of his mouth and straightened up a smidge.

Whitner knows how long a single statement can stick with a guy. After his declaration prior to last season that the Bills would, without question, be in the playoffs, Whitner had to answer follow-ups until after locker cleanout.

So when he insisted on Sunday he was ?gonna try to kill? Cadillac Williams on a first quarter pass play, he added a quick clarification.

?I just wanted to make a jump on that football and make a jump on him. If he got the football, I was gonna try to kill him,? Whitner said.

?Well, not kill him literally, but in a football sense.?

No need for bloodshed either way, Donte, literally or figuratively.

When Tampa quarterback Byron Leftwich threw errantly to Williams ? and errant throws were the norm for Leftwich on Sunday ? Whitner got both hands up and saw something he?d yet to see as a Bill.

The end zone.

Whitner?s 76-yard pick-six ended a nine-play drive that proved to be one of the Bucs? best of the day, giving the Bills a cushion they kept throughout the late afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

For Whitner, the score was his first, the end of a drought that started when the Bills took him in the first round of the 2006 draft and inserted him into the lineup.

?It felt good. That?s just team defense. The guys get pressure up front and we make plays on the back end,? Whitner said. ?As long as we continue to get that pressure, we?ll be able to go to guys? first and second reads and make plays on the football.?

Niagara Gazette - TIM'S TAKE: Whitner lets play do talking against Bucs

[Buckskin86]

Posted: Monday, 21 September 2009
$400K Break In at Bills Players Home
Steve Cichon Reporting
scichon@entercom.com

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP/WBEN) _ Someone stole $400,000 worth of jewelry from Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner's home while he was at Ralph Wilson Stadium for a home game.

Whitner spokeswoman Patricia Horton tells The Associated Press that Whitner found out about the larceny after Sunday's win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Whitner, who lives in the suburb of Hamburg, returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown in the Bills' 33-20 win.

Horton says Whitner is upset and hurt by the theft and is on ``high alert'' because he doesn't know who is responsible. She says he isn't interested in pressing charges and just wants his belongings back.

WBEN NewsRadio 930 : Buffalo & Niagara Falls, NY - $400K Break In at Bills Players Home

[txbuckeye1983]

NFL Videos: Donte Whitner pick 6

Video of Donte's pick 6.

[Buckskin86]

Roth: For Bills' Whitner, sanctuary is found on field
Leo Roth ? Staff writer ? September 25, 2009

ORCHARD PARK ? When the Buffalo Bills lost to the New England Patriots in the regular-season opener, free safety Donte Whitner was in tears afterwards.

The Bills had come so close to snapping an 11-game losing streak to their nemesis, only to lose by a measly point. This one hurt and Whitner wasn't afraid to let everyone know the depths of his pain.

In the testosterone-driven world of football played at the professional level, it's unusual to see a player wear his emotions on his sleeve. But in a Buffalo locker room where heart has been questioned time and time again during this playoff-less decade, it was also refreshing to see Whitner care so much.

It didn't shock his teammates.

"When you have someone that dedicates themselves physically and mentally like Donte, that's the look you're going to see in the locker room after a tough loss like that one," fellow defensive back George Wilson said. "You win with guys like that."

Yes you do.

Last Sunday, Whitner was all smiles after returning an interception 76 yards for his first NFL touchdown, sparking a 33-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Ralph was rocking hard when No. 20 reached the end zone but Whitner couldn't hear the fans' screams.

"When a play like that happens, you can't even really hear it," he said. "It's just like everything is going in slow motion, a blur ... it's kind of weird but it's fun at the same time.''

From tears to cheers, that's how quickly things can change in sports.

And in life.

Just hours after his big play, Whitner was brought back down to earth once more when he returned to his Hamburg, Erie County, townhome only to discover the theft of $400,000 worth of jewelry.

Whitner, 24, is in his fourth season but it seems like 14, that's how profound an impact he's had on his team and his community.

His prolific amount of charity work through his Team 20 Foundation touches cancer patients, kids battling addiction, the homeless and the hungry.

And coming from his background, Whitner has also made responsible parenting one of his pet projects. A father of two young children, he is host to events that support single moms and encourage fathers to be responsible dads.

His mom, Deborah, who worked several jobs to support him and his four brothers growing up, assists him in this work. Two brothers are now playing college football.

"We are a prime example of how the sacrifices a mother makes are not in vain," Whitner said.

Thieves can still Whitner's bling. They can never steal his heart.

Roth: For Bills' Whitner, sanctuary is found on field | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle

[Buckskin86]

starting strong safety Donte Whitner was scheduled for surgery Monday afternoon on a thumb injury. Both Whitner and McKelvin were injured in Sunday's 27-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Jauron said Whitner would be evaluated week to week, but would not rule him out for Sunday at Miami. That won't be the case for McKelvin.

Whitner was hurt in the fourth quarter. Jauron did not indicate whether the thumb was broken, which could be good news. Tight end Derek Fine broke his thumb in preseason last year, and missed nearly two months after surgery.

McKelvin has broken leg; Whitner to have surgery : Sports : The Buffalo News

[osucollegebuck]

Too bad, I love seeing Whitner and Ginn on opposite sides of the ball.