Billy Ray Cyrus is not just a prolific musician and actor. He’s also a former football player who made it to the state championships.
Cyrus on the Football Field
“Today is #NationalTightEndsDay,” Cyrus tweeted on Sunday. “I was a tight end for the Russell Red Devils. We won the State Championship my senior year! Yes. This is me catching the ball.”
Cyrus undoubtedly has a bit of a soft spot for football.
Last year, he performed his song “Some Gave All” at a Tennessee Titans vs. Kansas City Chiefs game. He sang it with the Voices of Service a capella quartet.
“I just thought [the quartet] was a beautiful thing,” he told Rolling Stone Country. “So it’s going to be really exciting to be with them on the 50-yard line.”
And in 2010, Cyrus sang the National Anthem and appeared in a halftime show for a Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles game. He also performed at a San Diego Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs game and a Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts game that same year.
He even appeared in a Super Bowl halftime commercial for Doritos earlier this year with Lil Nas X and actor Sam Elliott.
A Sensitivity to Non-Jocks
Still, while Cyrus was a jock in high school, he has also shown a sensitivity to the plight of bullied students. Last year, he sang “Amazing Grace” at the memorial service for Channing Smith, a Tennessee high school junior who shot himself after he was outed by classmates.
“He was a band kid,” Smith’s brother told the New York Times, “so he wasn’t known as a football stud.”
Cyrus also rode Smith’s motorcycle at the memorial service, according to the Times.
The Tennessean reported that Cyrus had heard Smith’s story on local news and contacted the family himself. Last November, Cyrus joined Smith’s family at the White House to meet with Melania Trump, where they talked about bullying for over an hour.
