BARBERTON, Ohio — Former NFL defensive end and Barberton native John Cominsky has spent the last six years playing professional football. Now, he's returned home to give back to his community.
Cominsky, who was a 4th-round draft pick in 2019, spent time with the Atlanta Falcons and even the Detroit Lions during his playing career.
But even as he played away from home, he always made his way back— to give back.
Through the Cominsky Family Foundation, the retired DE has been able to help support members of his community, like local dad Artez Evans and his son.
"I met John at his youth camp," said Evans, "cause my son Artez Jr. attended it."
"Meeting John and realizing he's a nice guy for real, it was real special. That's like the first guy in the NFL I got a picture with," Evans Jr. said.
Ultimately, the game took a toll on Cominsky's body.
"I hurt my MCL in training camp, going into that last year, and I suffered a bunch of concussions the year before," said Cominsky, "You gotta protect yourself [but] at the same time, you know, it's like I'm looking at my kids and I wanna make sure that I can play with them for years to come. So, it's just a— kinda was like a rock in a hard place."
This past spring, at 29 years old, Cominsky decided to walk away.
"Once that fire goes out, the fire goes out... It was definitely hard to walk away, but [I] had to make a decision for my family and for myself," Cominisky said.
Back home in Barberton, where his football career began, Cominsky has continued his story. His next chapter is one that's familiar.
"John always had a big heart. He always liked giving back so— I don't think it was hard for him to do it. I don't think it was a big question or something like that," Evans said.
The former defensive lineman may have hung up his cleats, but he has slipped into a pair of running shoes as he dives deeper into the community and his foundation.
"I'm running in the Akron half-marathon. Thirteen point one miles—it's a lot. A family friend gave me the idea to have a T-shirt, sell advertisement space on it to local businesses. It reached 5,5000 bucks," Cominsky said.
The money being raised will help local families, which Cominsky says, "The goal is just to help out the youth. We've been able to give to food pantries, we've been able to put on a football camp."
Now, Cominsky has a new test of endurance for a pro-athlete entering a new era.
Evans expressed that he has hope for Cominsky's marathon, but he knows it'll realistically be a challenge.
"Coming from a defensive lineman, I hope he— I want him to do good. But, you know, that's a lot of running," Evans said.
Evans Jr. was optimistic, nevertheless, saying, "I think hes gonna do good, I think he can do it if he really tries."
