Brown: Kentucky LB J.J. Weaver is all that's right with NIL — Rand Paul should take note

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kids used to call Kentucky linebacker J.J. Weaver, “alien.”

But not in a good way, like “freak” is sometimes used to describe athletic football players whose abilities stretch well beyond their body frames.

Weaver was born with six fingers on his right hand. It’s a condition known as polydactyly, that can occur with toes too, and happens about once in every 1,000 births. Kids used to pick on Weaver because he was different.

“They called me so many names," Weaver recalled on Wednesday at SEC football media days.

Now they can call him, The Perfect Fit.

C.L. Brown: Tre Mitchell, Antonio Reeves could be key to March success for Kentucky basketball

Weaver returns: Kentucky linebacker JJ Weaver announces he'll be back for senior season. What it means

The Moore High School product said he used to stuff his two pinkies into the same slot of a five-finger glove during games. It was uncomfortable, hurt and didn’t afford him the grip he needed.

When name, image and likeness became legal in college sports a couple year ago, Weaver and his mother reached out to Nike. The athletic gear giant created a custom-made glove for Weaver with six fingers.

If those same kids he grew up with saw him today, they’d label him role model.

Weaver’s tale is one of the many positive outcomes from NIL deals in college sports.

Through his foundation, “The Perfect Fit” Weaver is holding a bicycle drive this month. He said he’s already purchased 100 bikes to give away, and his foundation is still taking bikes and monetary donations through July 21.

The bikes will be distributed to kids ages 4-14 on a first come, first serve basis July 30 at Iroquois Park.

C.L. Brown: Going from newcomers to winners shouldn’t take long for Jeff Walz, John Calipari's teams

Doesn't sit well: Why Kentucky's Mark Stoops still is 'bothered' by Will Levis' NFL draft selection

Earlier this week, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey kicked off the league’s media days event with a speech outlining why Congress needed to get involved with setting one standard for colleges to follow.

Sankey's comments came one week after Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, in a hearing unrelated to college sports, complained about NIL. Paul tapped into racial stereotypes, saying “everybody that plays basketball in college is gonna be driving a Bentley or a Rolls (Royce).” And added, “we’re gonna be seeing rap stars instead of basketball stars.”

“So they’ve completely screwed up college athletes,” Paul said. “Many of us loved watching amateur athletes who weren’t paid.”

There isn’t enough time to point out all the ways Paul’s comments were ignorant. It certainly would start with the backward notion of Paul being concerned with how any individual decides to spend the money they earned.

Surely there are some athletes who decide to splurge. Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of coach Deion Sanders, showed off a new Mercedes Benz Maybach he purchased with his NIL earnings. And that’s perfectly fine.

And so is what Weaver’s doing.

NIL helped keep Weaver at UK for his senior year. He could have been off chasing a professional career right now, but NIL opportunities made it easier for him to stay in school.

C.L. Brown: UK basketball should keep lineups small to win big — even when its 7-footers return

Early look at 2023-24 Wildcats: Three Kentucky basketball newcomers already showing promise

But not just for the sake of making money. It’s important to Weaver to have an impact on his community.

He held a football skills camp last weekend in Radcliff and offered to help any kid who couldn’t afford the $60 registration. Much of his drive stems from the first time he opened up about his hand during the 2021 season.

A Lexington elementary school teacher who was born with six fingers reached out to UK to ask Weaver to speak to her class because two of her third grade students also had polydactyly.

“I didn't have a big role model coming in my school talking to me,” Weaver said. “So I feel like I was more inspired just to talk to the kids and change their lives.”

Weaver is inspiring from a bike, not a Bentley.

Rand Paul should take note.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on Twitter at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky football LB, Moore High grad JJ Weaver using NIL to give back