This ex-quarterback knows how to throw a ball!
Former New York Jets player and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Joe Namath honored medical heroes at the Brooklyn Hospital Foundation Founders Ball in Downtown on Sept. 27.
The one-time Super Bowl champ and most valuable player joined hundreds of gala-goers at the New York Marriott hotel for the 29th-annual event, which celebrated healthcare experts including St. George’s University of Medicine cofounders Charles Modica and Patrick Adams, whom Namath recognized for improving medical education in the Caribbean by opening the Granada-based school 40 years ago.
“I am privileged and honored to be here, I understand the importance of what these guys have done,” he said. “There is not one person that I know of in the years that I’ve lived that’s more generous, disciplined, kind, and loving than Charlie Modica.”
And the athlete — who threw 173 passes to score touchdowns in his career — also scored a few laughs while addressing Modica in front of the crowd.
“I don’t think he’s all that smart to begin with — I think his father had a lot to do with it,” Namath said in jest before the audience.
Organizers bestowed Modica and Adams with the Founders Medal award at the gala. Other honorees included Brooklyn Hospital’s director of neuroscience, Dr. Anders Cohen, and director of clinical cardiology, Dr. Saimamba Veeramachaneni, who received the Walter E. Reed medal.
