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Ross Cockrell has inspired practice following sister's Olympic run

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•08/03/21•

Jonathan Wagner

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Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Ross Cockrell is entering his seventh season as an NFL defensive back. On Monday, he was able to watch his sister, Anna Cockrell, compete in the 400-meter hurdles in the Tokyo Olympics. Her second-place performance inspired Cockrell to have a big day for himself on the practice field later that day.

Watched sister’s race alongside teammates

The Buccaneers had an early-morning practice on Monday. But the first thing on the team’s agenda was to support Cockrell. The team gathered together to watch Anna Cockrell’s 400-meter hurdles race on a digital projector, and supported their teammate and his family. The support meant a lot to Cockrell, says ESPN staff writer Jenna Laine.

“Being able to watch my sister run with this team and this family, it was just amazing,” Cockrell said after Monday’s practice. “It was the biggest race of her life, and to see her go out there and perform as well as she did, in adverse weather, in adverse situations, and then to go out to practice and be able to do my thing, I was just feeling the magic that she had. I think she passed it along to me.”

“It was awesome, man,” Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said. “Everybody was holding our breath. It was such a close race, and she finished so strong and got in there. I mean, the whole room exploded, Really, really happy for him.”

The team’s support not only meant a lot to Ross, but to Anna as well. “Y’ALL GOT ME CRYING IN THE VILLAGE DINING HALL,” she tweeted.

Inspired by sister’s ‘magic’ run

After he hauled in three interceptions in Monday’s practice, Cockrell credited his sister and said inspired his big day.

“I was just feeding off her magic,” Cockrell said. “She gave me the magic, and I was able to continue on. It’s just a great feeling and a great moment for our family.”

Ross and Anna Cockrell have a tight bond. Before the race, Ross gave his sister some words of encouragement to try and keep her calm before her big day.

“She’s a bright light,” Ross said. “So I just remind her just to enjoy the process, all the work that she’s done to get to this point. Yes, it is the Olympics. It is a big stage, so she should be feeling nerves, she should feel excitement about what’s coming up. But the biggest thing I shared with her was to, ‘Breathe, do it and let her light shine.’ That’s something that we talk about a lot. Kind of ‘charging up her starts’ is a little joke that we have.”

When she saw that her brother Ross had a big day on the practice field, Anna joked that her brother was taking her spotlight. “Wow really making me share the spotlight today,” she tweeted. “Just kidding I love this and him and he better DO IT.”

Image courtesy of: Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images.