On Thursday, Mar. 26, former NFL player Mike DeVito is giving a talk on the limits of masculine privilege in football from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Bangor Room at Memorial Union. DeVito is the Director of Player Development and Alumni Relations with University of Maine Football and a professor of philosophy, where he is collaborating with the Women and Gender Studies at Work class to offer this open discussion. Questions such as what sports, and more specifically football, have to do with Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies from a philosophical perspective will be analyzed. Another key topic will be how mental health and gender intersect with football.
“It would be interesting to investigate football from a feminist philosophy perspective,” said DeVito. “As a philosopher, you’re evaluating concepts, ideas, like how football has always been a masculine sport, but why is that the case?”
DeVito has found a lot of success in his career. As a Cape Cod, Massachusetts native, he was recruited as a defensive end to UMaine, where he was named a two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection in his four years of playing. In 2007, he began his NFL career as an undrafted free agent where he was picked up by the New York Jets through his hard work and grit that he was always taught to have as a Black Bear. He spent an impressive six years with the Jets where he spent everyday in a tough environment to maintain a spot on the team.
“To make it on the team that you grew up rooting for, where my whole family was in Brooklyn cheering me on, was a lot of fun,” said DeVito.
In 2013, DeVito’s contract came to an end in New York and he decided to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs for a three-year stint under legendary head coach Andy Reid. He was a part of the beginning of that dynasty that they created in the following years after an impressive nine years in the NFL. Through his foundation of weight training in which he never took a day off, he was able to be a part of the league for that amount of time, but ultimately what led to his retirement in 2016 was two back-to-back concussions in his last year.
After DeVito’s retirement, he knew he wanted to get into philosophy when he started studying the subject as he was playing football and found a passion for it. He went to graduate school right after finishing his NFL career and earned a masters and PhD in philosophy, which he achieved this past December after moving back to Bangor. The chair of the philosophy department invited him to become a lecturer at UMaine. He then got his title in 2023 as the Director of Player Development and Alumni Relations with UMaine Football through head coach Jordan Stevens, who played with DeVito as a Black Bear and found the role fit him perfectly. He now gets to integrate both of his passions, football and philosophy, into his everyday life.
Throughout DeVito’s outstanding career, he always circles back to the lessons that Maine, Maine football and the mentors he had have taught him. To be a Black Bear, you have to be gritty, tough and resilient.
