Omar Xavier Easy (born October 29, 1977) is a Jamaican-born American former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He played collegiate football at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

before being drafted in the fourth round of

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He played one season for the Oakland Raiders before retiring due to knee problems.

Career

Football

Easy was named

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' Massachusetts Player of the Year in 1996 while at Everett High School in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Everett was the last city in the Un ...

. As a college senior, he was the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the 2001

Blue–Gray Football Classic The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama, usually in late December and often on Christmas Day. The brainchild of Alabama college football legend Champ Pickens, the contest began in ...

. Easy suffers from exercise-induced

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

. He established the ''EasyWay Foundation'' in 2003 to benefit children with asthma.

Post-playing

From 2007 to 2009, Easy served as assistant offensive football coach and boys’ head track and field coach for his high school alma mater, Everett High School. He received his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

in 2001 from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, which included a minor in

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. He also received both his Master of Education (M.Ed.) in the field of education administration and his Ph.D. in educational leadership from

. Additionally, he earned a master's degree in business administration from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree lev ...

in 2010. In 2011, Easy was appointed director of player personnel and development in football for his college alma mater, Penn State. In January 2012, he left that position to become vice principal of his high school alma mater Everett High School. In 2020, Easy was selected as one of three finalists for the position of Superintendent of Public Schools for

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

. In January, 2021, Omar Easy entered into negotiations to become the next Superintendent of Schools for

Wayland, Massachusetts Wayland is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was founded in 1638, and incorporated in 1780 and was originally part of neighboring Sudbury (incorporated 1639). As of the 2020 United States Census, the population wa ...

Public Schools. He began his term on July 1, 2021. In February, 2023, Easy was placed on leave from the position of Superintendent of Schools for

Public Schools under allegations of misconduct.

References

External links

Profile
at NFL.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Easy, Omar 1977 births Living people People from Spanish Town Sportspeople from Everett, Massachusetts Jamaican players of American football American football running backs Penn State Nittany Lions football players Kansas City Chiefs players Oakland Raiders players University of Phoenix alumni School superintendents in Massachusetts