James Linwood Dawson, legally changed to Lin Dawson in 1993 (born June 24, 1959), is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He serves as the managing director of The Lin Dawson Organization, LLC. Lin grew up in

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 19,900 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the ...

. After graduating from Kinston High School in 1977, he accepted a football scholarship from

NC State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina s ...

. In

1981 NFL draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held during April 28–29, 1981, at the New ...

, he was selected by New England, where he played ten years. A starter at tight end, Dawson suffered torn ligaments in his knee on the Patriots’ first offensive play from scrimmage in

Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

on an incomplete pass thrown to him by quarterback

Tony Eason Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason IV (born October 8, 1959) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He pl ...

, causing him to miss not only the rest of the Super Bowl but the entire following 1986 season. He was a member of the New England Patriots ‘Team of the Decade-1980's. During the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

, Dawson was the player representative for the

References

1959 births Living people Players of American football from Norfolk, Virginia American football tight ends NC State Wolfpack football players New England Patriots players 20th-century American sportsmen {{Tightend-1950s-stub