Ethan Zohn Pulls a Tom Brady
Back in July, we talked to Survivor winner and Lexington native Ethan Zohn about his plan to dribble a soccer ball from Boston to Washington, D.C. to raise funds for his charity, Grassroots Soccer. The curly-haired do-gooder was 279 miles, 55 days, and three pairs of running shoes into his journey when tragedy struck.
While he was playing in a charity game along his route, another player tackled him and he went down, tearing his ACL and meniscus.
“I feel for Tom Brady,” Zohn tells Boston Daily. “We have a similar injury.”
And just as the fragility of the ACL took Brady out for the season, Zohn will be unable to complete the rest of his journey. But that doesn’t mean the Dribble is over. Zohn’s friends, family, and fellow soccer players have teamed up to take the ball all the way to Washington, D.C.
“Trust me, I’m upset. But I’ll be there every step of the way,” Zohn says. “Well, not every step. I’ll be in a car for part of it.”
Zohn tells us that 11 days before his injury, the charity had raised over $100,000 for Grassroots Soccer, which helps educate African children about HIV and AIDS, and that he hopes to continue raising money and awareness at events along the remainder of the route.
Zohn has yet to have surgery on his ACL (don’t use the guy Brady used, Ethan!), but he also faces a five-and-a-half month recovery period, much like the Patriots QB did before his infection.
“Hey, if you can get the message to him, tell him we can hang out. Get massages, go to physical therapy together, maybe do a little shopping,” Zohn jokes.
To learn more about the route and Grassroots Soccer, visit Grassrootsoccerunited.org.
