Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora arrived in Iraq yesterday as one of the two players NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell picked to accompany him on a history-making seven-day, three-country summer USO tour, led by the Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen.
Umenyiora and Saints quarterback Drew Brees shook hands with hundreds of troops, signed autographs and tossed around a football in 110-degree heat.
Goodell is the first commissioner of a sports league to visit U.S. troops overseas as part of a USO tour. This is not the first time Umenyiora has embarked on a goodwill trip. He, along with four other NFL players, went this past spring on a humanitarian mission to Nigeria.
Giants players report to training camp July 24, and Umenyiora is expected back from the trip in time for an on-time arrival in Albany.
“It is a great honor to have been asked to join Admiral Mullen on this USO tour,” Goodell said. “I anticipate that it will be a very humbling and memorable experience.
“I am inspired by the many NFL representatives that, over the decades, have volunteered to visit our troops overseas and have talked about it being a life-changing experience. I want to do my part and emphasize that the entire NFL appreciates and supports the work that our military does to protect our country.”
For security reasons, the full itinerary of Goodell’s party was not released.