Darren Waller’s Parents: Meet Dorian and Charlena Waller, the Ex-NFL TE Guards Who Inspired His Music Career

Darren Waller is retiring from the league after his eight-season NFL career. However, there might be other interests that could prove useful this time around for the professional athlete – particularly the interest of his parents. Waller began his NFL career after being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. But the Georgia Tech player’s life journey to becoming a healthy professional football player is quite difficult, yet inspiring. Thanks to his parents who were there for the tight end.

Born September 13, 1992, Darren Waller is the son of Dorian and Charlena Waller, married for over 35 years. Even though we don’t know much about them, their support during their son’s difficult phase is remarkable. There was a time when tight end Waller struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. He tended to adopt this bad habit from a young age, when he was constantly called black. It affected him so much that Waller wore masks everywhere he went.

Additionally, the pain was so deep that he looked outside his home for approval for his appearance. However, later, his parents and his entire family played a pivotal role in his life, helping him overcome the struggle and focus on becoming a better, healthy athlete.

When Darren Waller was traded to the Giants, he remembered growing up watching the team with his father. In the “Group of giants”, podcast, he revealed dad’s reaction to the exchange. Waller said his father was over the moon when he heard about it, as he was a die-hard Giants fan himself. He expressed: “I saw the Giants grow with him. I’ve seen just about every nugget of Giants history, whether in NFL films or just sitting on the couch watching with him. So, it’s cool to be here and experience full life moments like that, and a lot of his family is from New York as well. So just representing them at the same time as representing the Giants is a pretty cool thing.»

Aside from that, Waller comes from a musical family. In an interview last year, the 31-year-old revealed that music was in his blood and came from his great-grandfather, jazz composer Fats Waller. He said his parents, Dorian and Charlena, introduced him to the piano when he was very young. The athlete also performed in a band at the music school. Then after college, he stopped playing music until after college, when he learned more about his great-grandfather’s influence. He also realized his own musical talent and since then he has been recording, creating beats and singing.

For Waller, creating music brings him immense joy and is one of his favorite activities. At the end of May, he also released his piece entitled “Who knew (his point of view), ” as good as “I’m not the one to play with» song at the beginning of June. Now that he’s retired, it’s safe to say that Waller can release more of his tunes and take his attention away from his mental health issues.

The reason for Darren Waller’s retirement is his health

NFL tight end Darren Waller has hung up his cleats after playing for the Ravens, Raiders and Giants. In a YouTube video, the 31-year-old said he had a high fever in November, which left him hospitalized for three and a half days because he couldn’t breathe. This health issue caused him to reconsider his life and decide to retire from the NFL. During his professional career, in 2017, Waller was suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Reflecting on this phase, the former TE admitted that he didn’t value himself and found the idea of ​​change intimidating. After rehab and a job at a grocery store, he returned to the NFL. His career peaked during his five years with the Raiders, where he had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020. Additionally, he was selected to the Pro Bowl in the same year (2020).

Now that he is retired from the New York Giants, the team released a farewell statement for him: “We have great respect for Darren as a person and a player. We wish him nothing but the best.»

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