Giants' Logan Ryan, wife big winners off the field
Logan Ryan said "This is something where you truly don't know when you'll play your last snap." Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The golden retriever from the Camden, New Jersey pet shelter came into Logan Ryan’s life by the time he was in kindergarten. And oh, how he loved Amber.
"We had her when I was 5 or 6 years old, and she was with me until high school," the Giants safety recalled the other day. "My dad went to the ‘pound,’ as he called it, and brought her home, so she was with me my whole childhood."
Ryan wept when he lost Amber just before beginning his football career at Rutgers. "It was heartbreaking, because that pet becomes part of your family," he said.
When he met his girlfriend, Ashley Bragg, a star shortstop at Rutgers, it turned out that the two not only had a love of sports but a love of dogs in common. Their dedication to animals has only grown since they’ve been married.
"When I got drafted in New England, she took a job at an animal shelter and I saw firsthand some of the stories about how tough it was and how tough some of these animals had it," Ryan said.
He and Ashley have since turned that passion for the well-being of animals into the Ryan Animal Rescue Foundation, an organization dedicated to help support animals throughout the world. He recently partnered with CARE — Community Animal Rescue Effort — for a Thanksgiving event that provided free food and supplies for area dogs. It’s one of several events Ryan’s organization has participated in to help the cause. He also partnered with Covenant House in Newark to support homeless youth through education, employment and financial literacy.
"My foundation and CARE are the only two minority-run foundations that provide grant money to shelters," Ryan said. "There aren’t a lot of minorities in this space, not a lot of men in this space of animal rescue. I thought it was pretty cool, so we just did some work together to try to impact where I was born and raised and go right back to Camden, New Jersey."
As part of last week’s "My Cleats, My Cause" event, in which players could wear cleats in support of an off-field charity, Ryan wore red cleats — a shout-out to "Clifford The Big Red Dog."
"I’m dedicating this year’s My Cause My Cleats to @RARF_official in our mission to help and support animals everywhere," Ryan wrote on his Twitter feed.
Small wonder that Ryan this week was the Giants’ nominee for one of the NFL’s most prestigious honors — the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Named after the Bears’ Hall of Fame running back, who died in 1999, the award recognizes an NFL player for outstanding community service off the field as well as excellence on the field. Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning was a co-winner of the award, along with former Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, in 2016.
"I knew when I came into this league that I wanted to give back," said Ryan, 30. "It took time to figure out what my causes were going to be. It took time to figure out what was close to my heart, who to help and how to help. It came organically."
Logan’s primary focus, of course, is football, and he’ll try to find a way to help the Giants deal with the Chargers’ offense and star quarterback Justin Herbert in Sunday’s game at SoFi Stadium. But that doesn’t mean he can’t simultaneously lend support to a cause that has become a huge part of his family.
In fact, the day the Ryans got married in 2017, they were reminded about the importance of their mission to help animals.
"When we got to St. Lucia [for the destination wedding], we noticed on our drive all the stray dogs and cats on the street," Ashley told Good Morning America for a piece that aired after the wedding. "It was very strange to us."
One dog kept following the couple.
"I was just worried about Ashley’s dress, because it was so expensive," Ryan told ABC. "It was Ashley who welcomed it, petting this dog — that’s just the type of person she is."
The couple asked that, in lieu of wedding gifts, donations be made to a local shelter, "Help Animal Welfare."
"Without people like them who go above and beyond to help, we would not be able to continue saving lives in Saint Lucia," the shelter said in a statement after the Ryans asked for donations. "They haven’t only helped us financially, they’ve also helped bring awareness to our organization."
Since joining the Giants before the 2020 season, Ryan has emerged as one of the club’s most important leaders and was named a captain this season. He still finds hope for his 4-8 team, and rest assured he will do whatever he can to help on the field.
The animal welfare community can be assured he’ll do his part off the field, too.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
