Finding second act through MMA league, ex-NFL LB Shawne Merriman aims to offer other athletes the same
Rolling with the punches: Shawne Merriman finds passion post-football
Shawne Merriman was scrolling through Instagram last year when a video of a sparring session stopped him.
The athlete in the clip shot at a gym in Greensboro, North Carolina, was Chris McCain, a defensive lineman at a crossroad in life. After being charged two misdemeanor counts of battery in June 2018 and later being cut by the Indianapolis Colts, McCain couldn't find an NFL team willing to sign him .
“They gave up on me,” McCain said. “And I had given up on football.”