Nebraska football player Malachi Coleman featured on ‘Kelly Clarkson Show’

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska football freshman Malachi Coleman continues to raise the bar when it comes to giving back.

The recent Lincoln East graduate started a nonprofit with his parents called Fly Like Chi.

Its focus is to provide foster children opportunities to thrive in sports, arts and more.

Coleman himself grew up in the foster care system and knows the challenges these kids face.

Now his mission is to give back, using his platform and name, image and likeness money.

“When I envisioned NIL, this is kind of what I looked at it as,” Coleman said. “I didn’t want to be known as just a football player. I want to be known as an amazing human being.”

On Monday, Coleman and his parents appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” where Clarkson surprised Coleman with a $15,000 donation from Dude Wipes to Fly Like Chi.

Coleman’s mom, Miranda, is the president of Fly Like Chi and said she’s not surprised that Malachi’s story’s garnered national attention.

“To hear him tell his story, you know it’s going to reach far and wide because he tells it so, so genuinely,” she said. “As a mom who’s from Lincoln, Nebraska, getting on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ was crazy!”

In between his time spent on Fly Like Chi, Coleman’s busy with summer workouts for Nebraska football.

“The workouts have definitely been hard. but it’s going to make me a lot bigger.”

Coleman said he’s enjoying the family atmosphere head coach Matt Rhule instills into the guys.

“One of his [Matt Rhule’s] main messages on what he wants to emphasis in the summer is brotherhood. … He wants us to branch out and make more friends, make more family,” he said. “Because that’s what it is. Everyone there is family.”