Broncos' Bolles makes protection his mission whether it's blocking for QB or mentoring at-risk kids

Updated Jan. 6, 2024 5:02 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles has made providing protection his calling.

On game days, it’s safeguarding his quarterback, which will again be Jarrett Stidham in the regular-season finale Sunday at Las Vegas.

On any other day, it's counseling at-risk kids. Bolles has become a mentor for more than 100 children and teens in the juvenile justice system. He talks to them, takes them to dinner, lays down the law with them, even gives them his cell number in case of emergencies.

Because Bolles was once that troubled kid. He careened down a path filled with drugs, alcohol and parties. He ran with the wrong crowd and made bad decisions, which included an arrest for vandalism.

But he found a protector of his own — the Freeman family in Utah. They took him in as a teenager and helped turn around his life. Now, he's simply paying it back.

“My good spirits and my bad spirits were fighting with each other. I’d wake up and there were days where it’s like, ‘Do I want to be the old Garett or do I want to be the new Garett?’” explained Bolles, who received the Broncos' nomination for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award for his leadership on the field and in the community (he also helps kids with learning disabilities). “I continue to still have to ask myself that to this day, because I think those habits are always in the back of my head.

“Over time, I’ve learned to fight those demons and fight those things that still trigger me.”

Growing up in Lehi, Utah, he was leading such a destructive lifestyle that police knew him by his first name.

“I was the type of kid in high school that other kids would say, ‘I don’t want to hang out with him,'" said Bolles, a standout lineman at Utah before being taken by Denver with the 20th overall pick in the 2017 draft. “I was just so angry and so frustrated.”

Bolles struggled with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). School was difficult. He stayed out late. Got in trouble. His brush with the law hit a crescendo when he was arrested after vandalizing a rival high school’s football field. He wasn't immediately released from jail on bail, either, but left in there for a bit to think about his actions.

It was a sobering reality. He vowed to change.

With an assist from the Freeman family, he did.

Greg and Emily Belle Freeman lived in the same neighborhood. Their two sons were close in age to Bolles. The family tutored him. Their house became a safe place for him. Greg Freeman also was Bolles’ lacrosse coach.

One day, Greg Freeman was driving by Bolles' house and saw him on the curb with all of his belongings. He was upset. He needed to find a new place to live. Greg called his wife about what to do.

They opened their door to him — with ground rules. Three doctrines he had to follow.

One, attend church. The family has strong ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Two, his contacts needed to be screened and his phone surrendered each night.

Three, he had to find ways to give back.

The Freemans weren't quite sure if he would be able to live by those standards.

“But he moved in with us when he was 18, took the room upstairs and he’s been a part of the family ever since,” Emily Belle Freeman said.

The Freemans are part of a vast support team for Bolles, along, of course, with his wife, Natalie. Emily Belle Freeman flies in from Utah for Broncos home games, while her husband attends as many road games as he can. There are other members of Bolles' inner circle who routinely check on him, too.

“They created a safe environment for me,” Bolles said. “If you would’ve asked me 10, 12 years ago if I was going to be here (with the Broncos), I’d say no. Because kids like me, a lot of them are locked up.”

Bolles works with kids through a juvenile probation court mentorship program near the Broncos' training facility. He also assisted in developing an incentive program featuring rewards like dinners with him and new shoes.

In addition, he helped the Arapahoe County 18th Judicial Youth Probation Court redecorate a room to be more inspiring for youth. He put up motivational slogans such as “It does not matter how you start. It only matters how you finish.”

Bolles has an organization, the “ GB3 Foundation,” that empowers kids struggling with learning disabilities. His son, Kingston, was diagnosed with a motor-speech disorder in 2021 and Bolles began the “ I Am King ” campaign to raise funds for families.

To be nominated for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award meant the world to Bolles. The national winner will be announced on Feb. 8. Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway (1992) is the only Broncos player to win the award that was first presented in 1970 and renamed in honor of the Chicago Bears running back in 1999.

“I’m just beyond grateful for all the many opportunities I get to help these kids,” Bolles said. “You have to take steps and make decisions in your life that are either going make you or break you.”

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