Isaiah Crowell

Isaiah Crowell is now the second-leading rusher in the NFL, and first with 6.5 yards per carry.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Sergeant Demetrick Pennie, President of Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation, got a call from his pubic relations officer last week saying he received a big check from Browns running back Isaiah Crowell.

"He said 'Sarge, what do you want me to do?''' Pennie told cleveland.com Tuesday. "He said, 'do you want me to tear it up? Dispose of it?'''

The PR officer, Mark Fredde, knew that Sgt. Pennie didn't want Crowell's money, even though he had pledged his first game check -- about $35,300 -- to the Foundation. All Pennie wanted was a chance to educate Crowell on police sacrifice, and for him develop a relationship with the Foundation, which he had already done.

But as Pennie's done so many times over the past few months, he picked up the phone and called Crowell.

"I said, 'Isaiah, why did you send me a check? I told you you didn't have to send me a check,''' Pennie said. "He said, 'Sarge, I want to do it. I really want to do it.' I said, 'okay, alright, you will now be an executive level sponsor. So now, you are a celebrity sponsor of the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation.'''

Crowell, asked by cleveland.com about the donation this week in the Browns locker room, was reluctant to discuss it. He never wanted publicity for it in the first place.

"I said I was going to do it and I wanted to follow through,'' Crowell said.

To Crowell, it was just one of the many ways he plans to atone for posting a graphic illustration of a police officer being stabbed in the neck on his Instagram account. He quickly deleted the post.

In July, Crowell accepted Pennie's invitation to attend the Dallas funeral of one of the five slain police officers, Patrick Zamarripa. He spent the day with Pennie being educated on police service. The two have become close.

"Isaiah is like my little brother," said Pennie. "He's a long-term sponsor, not necessarily in terms of money, but he's going to be involved with my foundation, and how I engage him with my widows, and my fallen officer families. That's where this is going.''

Pennie believes it's no coincidence that Crowell is running with a renewed vigor this season. He believes it's another way Crowell is finding daylight out of the darkness.

"Now, he's the right kind of story for his community,'' Pennie said.

In the wake of his ordeal, Crowell has become one of the most productive runners in the NFL, with his 394 yards trailing only Ezekiel Elliot, who has 412 for Dallas in 33 more carries. More significantly, Crowell is first in the NFL with a 6.5-yard average, and has three TDs.

Sunday against the Redskins, Crowell rushed for 112 yards on 15 carries, including a 2-yard TD.

"Now he can get out here and play this game without having to worry about the (stress) of whether he's being politically involved in this or that," said Pennie. "Now, he's able to focus on his career and being a positive role model and that's what I want him to do.''

After the Baltimore game, in which Crowell had an 85-yard TD as part of a 133-yard performance, Pennie called to congratulate him.

"Then, after his 79 yards in Miami, he said, 'Sarge, how did I do?''' Pennie said. "I said, 'you did good but I need to see another Baltimore game.' He came back after the Redskins game and said 'How was that?' and I said 'alright, you got it.'''

Pennie, who was in Cleveland Tuesday to meet former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and discuss Pennie's lawsuit against Black Lives Matter for inciting racial violence, has continued to mentor Crowell and help him navigate the racial strife in our communities.

Pennie was welcomed to Cleveland by Stephen Loomis, President of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, who initially condemned Crowell and threatened to have the police boycott Browns games. Loomis later accepted Crowell's apology.

"I told Steve, I care about this young man, because he wants to learn, and he's never had a positive interaction with law enforcement,'' said Pennie, who also grew up with a negative view of police officers. "Having that young man come in and meet with me meant the world to me, to him, and we've formed a bond.''

Now, Crowell calls Pennie for advice, including on how to respond to Colin Kaepernick and other players kneeling during the national anthem to protest unfair treatment of African-Americans. He advised him not to kneel.

"I said, 'we want you to play football. Be there and you be a good steward for that team,''' he said. "Because the national anthem isn't just about police. The national anthem represents this country. It represents police, fire, military, all of the people that have laid down their life in support of this country.

"The national anthem means something. I explained that to him and he got it. And that's the type of education we continue to have through our relationship together.''

Pennie, who said he joined the U.S. Army after his cousin's murder made him confront the disconnect between law enforcement and the black community, welcomed the opportunity to change Crowell's mind.

"(The post) showed me that this was an individual that has not been socialized to what happens in law enforcement,'' said Pennie. "He doesn't understand. I gave him one day to decide whether he was coming in for the funeral, and he let me know that same day he's coming. He said. 'I'll be there Sarge.'

"And he he flew in on his own and we talked for three hours and I was made a better person. Everyone wants to talk about community policing, well this is community policing. You don't shun an individual because you don't like what they did.''

On Tuesday, while Pennie met with Giuliani, Crowell hung out with Pennie's son, who's become like a brother.

"I'm so proud of Isaiah,'' said Pennie. "He's 23 and my son is 23. He's like my son. He's like my little brother. I love him to death. I'm not going to let anybody hurt him. I'm there for him. If you're doing something wrong, I'm going to tell you.''

Fortunately for Pennie, he hasn't had to worry about that lately.