Ravens Players Use Time To Serve Communities

Over the past week or so here on Baltimore Beatdown, you've seen stories about some of the players n the Baltimore Ravens using their free time during this NFL labor dispute to provide much needed charitable help to their hometown communities. You've read about RB Ray Rice holding a football camp, rookie WR Torrey Smith hosting a charity basketball game, CB Lardarius Webb hosting a free football camp and Haloti Ngata helping out his former high school football coach with the team.

This certainly beats the news we've heard all too often about NFL players on the wrong side of the law and while there is still ample time for any player to make the wrong decisions, it's been good to see our Ravens in the news for the good things that they've been doing.

In addition to those players listed above, even more have been giving back to their local hometowns and here are a few more heartwarming stories about our guys in purple and black:

(Click on the 'Jump' to read which Ravens' players are giving back to their local communities.)

Defensive lineman Arthur Jones and his brother, UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, returned to U-E High School in Binghamton, New York to talk to students, focusing on whether they want to be a professional athlete or lawyer, it takes hard work, dedication and passion, according to a story on WBNG.com's Action News.

Guard Chris Chester joined other NFL players in raising funds for the athletic department for Tustin (Orange County, California) High School, according to the Orange County Register. Chester was a basketball and football star in high school before going to the University of Oklahoma as a tight end before switching to the offensive line.

Defensive Lineman Cory Redding joined Dallas Cowboys WR Roy Williams in hosting 250 kids from first through seventh grades at a football camp in Odessa, Texas, according to a story on Odessa American Online.