TAMPA, Fla. _ As one of the dozen Bucs players who spent their off day Tuesday talking to incarcerated teenagers at the Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center, long snapper Zach Triner told the kids that even in their situation, they can find a better life beyond the facility's barbed-wire fences.
Once they learned Triner was the team's long snapper, they had a question.
What happened on that field goal?
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"That was their first question," Triner said, referring to the last-second missed field goal that seals the Bucs' 32-31 loss to the Giants on Sunday. "I told them we all miss a few. You guys already have, or else you wouldn't be there."
Triner then told his focus group of four teenagers about his back story _ how getting into a fight as a kid growing up in Massachusetts landed him in trouble with the law, and about how he overcame a difficult upbringing because his father was imprisoned.
"As much as I spent so much time envisioning myself on the field, talking to these guys is something I've always pictured doing," said Triner, a 28-year-old NFL rookie. "I have the opportunity to play football for a living, so it shows that these guys can make a mistake and there's still something for them on the other side. I messed up probably worse than some of them."
Tuesday's visit to the facility _ which temporarily houses arrested juveniles who are awaiting trial _ marked the Bucs' first Social Justice Initiative event this season. Fifty one juveniles took part.
The initiative _ created last year to focus on police relations, criminal justice reform, racial equality, workforce development and youth empowerment _ grew out of the Bucs wanting to make a grassroots effort to address social injustice issues and go beyond kneeling during the national anthem.
Two visible faces of last year's Social Justice Initiative player board _ Gerald McCoy and DeSean Jackson _ are now gone. This year, cornerback Carlton Davis and punter Bradley Pinion joined offensive linemen Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet on the board.
"The Social Justice Initiative is 100% led by the players and really this is a continuation of what they're so passionate about," said Bucs co-owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz. "It was their choice to come here and I think that's why this day resonated so well. It was just very impactful. It just speaks volumes that they're here today and chose what they're truly passionate about. "
This year's initiative events will include players attending a youth mock trial, a trip to watch bail hearings and meeting with elected officials about bail reform and sentencing.
Inside the West Tampa facility the Bucs visited Tuesday, juveniles attend classes, but are constantly under guard. Their stays are brief, no longer than 21 days. Some go to trial before then. The average stay is 12 days.
Some males who are sentenced to serve time will soon be transferred to the Tampa Residential Facility or the Columbus Youth Academy, both located across the city near the Falkenburg Road Jail. Ultimately, the goal is to integrate them back into school so they can graduate and lead successful lives.
On Tuesday, quarterback Jameis Winton interacted with the kids first on the football field, throwing passes to them in a fenced-in courtyard, then in smaller group settings of four or five.
Winston talked to each kid by their name, asking them first about their backgrounds and what led them to being detained, then offered them support and advice on their uncertain futures.
"There's a lot of opportunity for you," Winston told them, "Don't let these walls make you think otherwise. ... Ask yourself, what do I want out of life when I get out of here?'
"You want to plant a seed," Winston said afterward. "This is our youth. They are our future."
Marpet's group was paired with some female juveniles.
"Some of them have kids, some of them are pregnant, and after talking to them, it's amazing to see how resilient some of them are," he said.
The soft-spoken Carlton Davis spoke passionately to his small group, telling the kids about how he grew up in a single-parent home in Miami without much money and overcame the same temptations they have dealt with.
"I relate to these kids so much," Davis said. "I dealt with a lot of the same things, the neighborhoods, the influences, not having enough money, trying to get money, all the hustles that come to you and the decisions you have to make."
Freddy Barton _ the executive director of Safe & Sound Hillsborough, which is a community collaborative of lawmakers, defenders, prosecutors, courts, schools and police aimed at reducing and preventing violence _ said the players offered the juveniles a valuable experience.
"These kids look up to these guys and see them as larger than life, but after talking and sitting down with them, they can see that they're regular people."
And as the three-hour visit progressed, walls were broken. In the cafeteria, Davis, Pinion and Triner bobbed to the beat as one kid freestyled and drew a crowd.
As much as the players were there to offer support, they came away feeling they gained just as much, if not more.
"I honestly would do this every week," Davis said.
