HINES WARDNFL Football Player | Sports Analyst
Hines Edward Ward, Jr. was born on March 8, 1976 in Seoul, South Korea to a Korean mother and an African American father whom he was named after. His mother took full custody of him and raised him in the United States following the divorce of his parents, leading Ward to believe his father had abandoned him after leaving for duty in Germany. Ward played 16 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a receiver, becoming the most valuable player of the 2006 Super Bowl. Following the season, the national response to Ward was overwhelmingly positive that it was viewed as the turning point in acceptance of biracial, particularly half-African/ African American, children in Korea. “I got more love there than I did in the States.” Today, Ward is a strong advocate for social justice in Korea, especially in the blossoming multicultural community. |
“It was hard for me to find my identity… the black kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I had a Korean mom. The white kids didn’t want to can out with me because I was black. The Korean kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was black. It was hard to find friends growing up. And then once I got involved in sports, color didn’t matter.”
“It’s a great culture. I love everything about it. But there’s a dark side to that culture. And me. I’m just trying to shed a light on that dark side and make Korea a better place than it already is.”