Alabama welcomes Ken Griffey Jr. to camp as guest speaker

The impressive guest speakers keep coming for Alabama and Nick Saban. Just a few weeks after bringing in MLB legend Pete Rose, Saban brought in another icon: Ken Griffey Jr.

“The Kid” was on campus in Tuscaloosa on Thursday to meet with Saban in his office and eventually address the Crimson Tide in the locker room. He played in the big leagues from 1989-2010 with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, along with a quick stop in Chicago with the White Sox in 2008.

If there’s anyone who knows greatness, it’s Griffey — a 13-time All-Star and first-ballot Hall of Famer who’s known for having the smoothest swing in baseball history.

The Kid❗️

Thank you, MLB Legend Ken Griffey Jr. for spending some time with the team today. pic.twitter.com/vAW53FnAIw

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 18, 2023

Ken Griffey Jr. is the latest in an impressive line of guest speakers at Alabama. Rose, NBA championship-winning coach Doc Rivers, former NFL player CL Shepherd and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan have also spoken with the Crimson Tide during fall camp.

Of course, Rose’s message was a little different from the others. He spoke about the dangers of gambling, which is a subject that hits close to home in Tuscaloosa. The baseball team was at the center of an investigation that eventually saw Brad Bohannon get fired as head coach.

Rose was candid in his comments — so much so that he called a player a funny name that Saban wouldn’t repeat. But it was a serious conversation in which Rose talked about the risk that comes with gambling and the error in judgment he made.

“He said he made a mistake,” Saban said. “He should have never done it and he said it was bad judgment on his part. … But he also talked about winning, and he said he never gambled on his team doing anything but winning because he believed in his players, he trusted his players, he loved his players.

“So, that’s how he answered the question. I’m paraphrasing what he said. You asked the question. I’m giving you the answer. But I’m leaving out one part because he had some kind words for the person who asked it.”

Shepherd — now a motivational speaker — took a different approach during his meeting with the Alabama players. He spoke about greatness and what it takes to not only reach the mountaintop, but stay there.

“You’re at Bama. Congratulations,” Shepherd said, clapping to a mostly silent room. “What now? I know you’re special. I don’t know your resume, I didn’t read your bios. But you’re in this room, you’re in this seat, you’re on this staff, congratulations. But making it to the top and making it at the top are two different things. You’ve got to have a mindset shift. You’ve got to shift gears, bruh, and you’ve got to go to another level. It’s going to take decisive engagement on consistency, on purpose and on result. And I want you to enjoy the journeys.”

On3’s Andrew Graham contributed to this report.