Joe Profit

{{Short description|American football player (born 1949)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Multiple issues|

{{more footnotes needed|date=December 2010}}

{{BLP sources|date=December 2010}}

}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Joe Profit

| image = Picture Headshot Dr Profit Standing Suite (2).jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|8|13}}

| birth_place = Lake Providence, Louisiana, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Republican

| education = University of Louisiana, Monroe (BA)

| module = {{Infobox NFL biography

| embed = yes

| name = Joe Profit

| number = 23

| position = Running back

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 0

| weight_lb = 213

| high_school = Richwood
(Ouachita Parish, Louisiana)

| college = Northeast Louisiana

| draftyear = 1971

| draftround = 1

| draftpick = 7

| pastteams = * Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|1971|1973}})

| highlights = * First-team Little All-American (1970)

| statlabel1 = Rushing yards

| statvalue1 = 471

| statlabel2 = Rushing touchdowns

| statvalue2 = 3

| statlabel3 = Receptions

| statvalue3 = 14

| statlabel4 = Receiving yards

| statvalue4 = 130

| pfr = P/ProfJo00

}}

}}

Joe Profit (born August 13, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL). He spent two seasons, plus part of a third, on the Atlanta Falcons before moving to the New Orleans Saints. He was selected in the first round with the seventh overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft. In his three seasons in the NFL, he rushed 133 times for 471 yards and three touchdowns. He spent the 1974 season with the Birmingham Americans and 1975 with the Birmingham Vulcans, both of the World Football League. He played college football at Northeast Louisiana University. Profit ran as a Republican in 2018 for Congress in Georgia's 4th congressional district, losing to incumbent Democrat Hank Johnson.{{Cite news |title=Georgia Election Results: Fourth House District |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/georgia-house-district-4 |access-date=December 6, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}

Early life and college career

Joseph Profit was one of nine children born to Simon and Ethel Profit in one of the poorest areas in America, Lake Providence, Louisiana. He graduated from Richwood High School in Monroe, Louisiana, and afterwards briefly attended Alcorn State before transferring to the University of Louisiana, Monroe.

Profit “only played three (football) games as a high school senior.”The Shreveport Journal In those three games he managed to score seven touchdowns. With such success, he received scholarship offers from various schools, including Grambling, Southern and Alcorn. Profit chose Alcorn State. However, due to various reasons, Profit left Alcorn with his sights on the University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM).

While attending ULM, Profit “became the first black athlete to play football in the Gulf States Conference”{{Cite news |title=A Clutch Receiver Profit Can Fly |publisher=Ron Hudspeth |agency=The Atlanta Journal}} (now the Sunbelt Conference). He was the Conference's all-time rushing champion with 2,818 yards, 538 carries and he set 10 school records, including most yards in a game. Unanimously, he was chosen as a member of the All–Sunbelt Conference team three years in a row. He also received first-team honors on the 1970 Little All-America college football team.{{cite news|title=A.P.'s Little All-American|newspaper=The Morning News|date=December 10, 1970|page=42|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88983288/aps-little-all-american/|via=Newspapers.com}} He was, also, named Most Outstanding Running Back in the Senior Bowl and was invited to play in the North–South Shrine Game. According to Atlanta's Journal Sports Writer, Van Scott, during Profit's collegiate career, he scored 19 rushing touchdowns and, at one time, placed 27th in the NCAA College Division rushing statistics.{{Cite news |title=Atlanta's Choice |publisher=Van Scott |agency=The Atlanta Journal}} Profit was the first athlete to have his number retired in the school's history.

Career

=NFL=

Profit was selected in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He was the first running back in Atlanta Falcons’ history to ever rush for 169 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns in a single game.{{Cite news |date=September 10, 1972 |agency=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution}} NFL Hall of Famer, Norm Van Brocklin, said “Joe was the best running back in the United States of America.” At the time, Profit was the single longest hold out in contract negotiations in Falcons history and the first running back to receive a multi-year six figure contract. After two years with the Falcons, Profit was traded to the New Orleans Saints. In 1974, he signed with the Birmingham Americans in the World Football League (WFL), and he signed with the Birmingham Vulcans of the WFL in 1975.

=Business career=

As a businessman, Profit was the first African-American to purchase an International House of Pancakes (IHOP) franchise in Georgia. After selling it, he bought several Burger King Restaurants.

In addition, Profit is founder and CEO of Communications International Inc., a telecommunications company. (CII). In 1991, CII was the first minority-owned firm to secure a multimillion-dollar contract to help in the reconstruction of the war-damaged country of Kuwait. Profit serves as president and CEO of Multimedia Digital Broadcast Corporation (MDBC). Founded in 2007, MDBC is a technology and marketing company that provides entertainment and information through a digital media delivery platform. The company specializes in a Proprietary Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and broadband technologies. It, also, provides marketing, branding, advertising, strategic services and digital broadband content delivery services.

Profit is the author of “Fields of Success - Raised Expectations.”{{Cite web |title=Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame |url=http://www.lasportshall.com/inductees/football/joe-profit/?back=inductee}} It is a biography written to inspire others, especially our youths.

For the past ten years, Profit has dedicated a great deal of his time focusing on his national Youth United for Prosperity, (YUP).

Profit is the founder of Legends & Kids, a series of literacy workshops in cooperation with public and private schools systems across the nation.

=Political career=

Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush appointed him to various government advisory boards.{{Cite web|url=https://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/lewis-assured-5th-incumbent-johnson-vying-for-7th-term-in-4th/|title = Lewis Assured 5th, Incumbent Johnson Vying for 7th (Term) in 4th|date = November 2018}} He was appointed to the Federal Communications Commission Small Business Advisory Committee (FCC), the International Trade Board Subcommittee for Policy, International Trade Board Subcommittee for Policy, Federal Reserve Board, the White House Small Business Advisory Committee, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Advisory Board.

==2018 congressional campaign==

{{see also|2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia#District 4}}

In 2018, Profit challenged Democratic Congressman Hank Johnson. He won the Republican primary unopposed.{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Joe_Profit|title = Joe Profit}} He lost to Johnson 79%-21%.[https://web.archive.org/web/20181107084730/https://www.washingtonpost.com/election-results/georgia-4th-congressional-district/ The Washington Post]

==2020 congressional campaign==

{{see also|2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia#District 6}}

Profit initially decided to run for the open seat in Georgia's 7th congressional district, but on December 23, 2019 decided to switch races to challenge one-term incumbent Congresswoman Lucy McBath. He was defeated by former Republican congresswoman Karen Handel in the Republican primary election.

Personal life

{{BLP unreferenced section|date=August 2020}}

Profit married his first wife, Deborah Robinson, in 1971 and had four children from that union. In 2008, he married his second wife, Wanda.

Presently, Profit and his wife reside in Marietta, Georgia. Profit ran as a Republican for Georgia's 4th district.

References