FOOTBALL SAVED THE ROCK FROM JUVENILE PRISON

The Rock says that football saved him from a life of juvenile delinquency, and he relates to his role as prison officer and coach in the upcoming movie Gridi…

Dwayne The Rock Johnson committed nearly nine juvenile offenses before turning 17, but the former wrestler had a guardian angel arresting officer who gave him the opportunity to turn his life around by enrolling him in a freshman football program. He says playing juvenile detention camp probation officer Sean Porter in Gridiron Gang who also took his unruly wards and used football as a leveler was a role he really related to.

That charm certainly paid off for The Rock who has gone on to become an action hero and a role model. Gridiron Gang opens in September. rn

“I had my fair share of run-ins with the law. I was arrested a whole bunch of times by the time I was fourteen just like these kids. And just like these kids I had someone my arresting officer, not my probation officer but I had my own Sean Porter who cared enough about me and said, ‘listen I’m tired of you F-ing up and I want you to go out, I’m telling you to go out and play football’ for the high school football team. I was a freshman, I was 14 years old and I played for another 10 years. And it changed my life. It got me off the streets and I started making the right decisions. I did everything from fighting to theft. Not cute. I was a bad kid but always very polite.”