Undrafted receiver claimed unlikely Oscars win after Ravens injury payout launched new career
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Matthew A. Cherry’s NFL dream didn’t pan out as he would have hoped, but he dusted himself off and found another route to stardom.
The former football star was raised in Chicago’s Northwest Side and was a standout receiver at the University of Akron.
He finished as the school’s all-time leading receiver and earned Second-Team All-American honors in his four-year college career.
More importantly, he earned a degree in media.
Cherry signed for the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent following the 2004 NFL Draft and was on the Cincinnati Bengals‘ roster for the final game of the season.
A journeyman career also took him to the CFL’s Ottawa Renegades, Carolina Panthers, NFL Europe’s Hamburg Sea Devils and Baltimore Ravens.
After missing the entire 2006 season on injured reserve, Cherry landed a $30,000 payout from the Ravens and used it to begin a new journey having never played a snap over three years as a pro.
Matthew A. Cherry’s Oscar dream comes true
In 2012, the rising star in entertainment tweeted: “I’m gonna be nominated for an Oscar one day. Already claiming it.”
Eight years later, his prediction came true, and thensome.
Cherry wrote Hair Love after raising a record $300,000 on Kickstarter.
It is the story of an African American father attempting to do his daughter’s hair for the first time.
Hair Love scooped the Academy Award for best animated short film in 2020.
Cherry said he hoped his work would lead to “more representation in animation” and “normalise black hair”.
His guest was Deandre Arnold — a Texas high school student who was told he couldn’t attend his graduation if he refused to cut his dreadlocks.
“It means the world to us to have him here with us,” Cherry said. “We wanted people to see how good of a kid he is, but also there’s no reason people should be policing our hair.”
Cherry is now a respected TV director, with Jordan Peele, Jada Pinkett Smith and Ava DuVernay among the stars he has collaborated with.
He is keen to point out that he succeeded in his new walk of life without playing up to his athletic past.
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“I really didn’t even tell people I played ball,” he told the Undefeated. “Athletes are always looked at weirdly when they try to do something outside of what they’ve been known for, and I was always conscious of that.”
Kobe Bryant claimed the same award for his film, Dear Basketball, in 2018 before his tragic death just before the 2020 ceremony.
Cherry dedicated his award to the NBA great.
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