Adding to its already impressive roster of celebrities, Barbados is proud to announce in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected Ramon Harewood, the first ever NFL player to come from the island of Barbados.
Harewood, a mere four-year veteran of the sport, is an all-american from Morehouse College in Atlanta. Recruited on full academic scholarship, with hopes of becoming an engineer, Harewood joined the Morehouse team.
Prior to his transfer, from the University of the West Indies, watching American football on television was the only exposure Harewood had to the sport. A frequent runner, volleyball, cricket and rugby player, Harewood is a natural born athlete.
Combining his innate athleticism with his 6-foot-6-inch, 341-pound build, Harewood's football potential could not be ignored by Michael Grant, assistant coach of the Morehouse College football team.
Harewood learned the game by watching from the sidelines. He played just two games on defense in the 2006 season, moved to offense in 2007 and less than three years later he achieved All-American honors which ultimately led to his 2010 NFL draft pick and athletic sponsorship with Nike.
The island of Barbados, in 2010 alone, played host to the ICC World Twenty/20 Cricket Finals, the 11th Annual CTO Sustainable Tourism Conference, the Barbados Jazz Festival featuring Smokey Robinson, and the Sentebale Charity Polo Event with England’s Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, which raised money in support of underprivileged children in Africa.
Additionally, being the culinary capital of the Caribbean, Barbados will host the upcoming Food & Wine and Rum festival this November, featuring culinary masters Tom Colicchio and Marcus Samuelsson, and sponsored by Food & Wine magazine.
Visit www.visitbarbados.org.