Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Before he became one of the best linebackers in the NFL and a leading activist among athletes, DeAndre Levy was a college player best known for a sideline tackle that broke former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's leg.

In a profile with Men's Journal published this week, Levy said that tackle is now "my proudest moment in college."

"That dirtbag, man," Levy told the magazine of Paterno, who was fired from Penn State in 2011 amid a scandal of child sexual abuse involving one of his former assistants, Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno, in court filings, has been accused of failing to report Sandusky's actions as far back as the 1970s. Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse and is serving 30 to 60 years in a Pennsylvania prison.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell, who worked under Paterno, said he disagrees with Levy's characterization of Paterno, but supports his player's right to voice speak out on the matter.

"Really, I think I’ve gone on record many times with how I’ve felt about Joe," Caldwell said. "In regard to our players making a statement about how they feel, it’d be hypocritical to tell you anything other than the fact that they can express their opinion, we don’t all necessarily agree with it."

Levy returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since injuring his knee in a Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts. He has played in parts of just two games over the past two seasons but was one of the best linebackers in the NFL in 2013-14.

Since his injuries -- Levy missed most of the 2015 season with a hip injury that required surgery -- Levy has become intimately involved in several social issues.

Last year, he sold off his sneaker collection to benefit Detroit's homeless, and this year, he has raised money to help Regenerate Detroit and to test some of the city's more than 11,000 abandoned rape kits.

"Football’s like my sole focus," Levy told the Free Press last month. "Everything was centered and focused on that because, you have to understand, when that goes away, you still have a role to play in this world and, right now, your platform is as big as it’ll ever be. As a football player -- as an athlete -- just saying anything, I can be in the headlines just for saying anything, literally. I can not practice and be in the headline for four weeks, and so it’s like, if people want to put this attention on me, let’s use this for good. And that was something I neglected early on in my career.​

"I kind of neglected my responsibility you inherit once you’re kind of a public figure and people are kind of buying into you and following you and listening to you. Let’s give them a message of something that’s important to you, something that can potentially change someone’s life."

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Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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