Hunter Henry came into Monday night’s second annual “Freedom to Play” ping pong tournament looking for a different ending than he got a year ago. He’d been talking up his game in the Patriots locker room, and he was feeling confident before the first serve. Even so, the New England tight end finished the night as the runner-up once again.
The event, held in collaboration with the International Justice Mission, was built around more than competition. IJM works to help end slavery and human trafficking around the world, and Henry said the cause has become personal to him.
"The more I learned about this organization and learned about the things that are going on across the world, I feel like it was important to kind of be a voice for the unheard," Henry told Patriots On SI.
Henry first staged the tournament last year and helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for IJM. This year’s version drew a strong crowd, including current and former Boston athletes who turned the room into a full-on scene.
Several Patriots teammates showed up and jumped into the action. Drake Maye, Kevin Byard, Behren Morton, Tanner Arkin, Eli Raridon and Bryce Baringer all played, while David Andrews - who spent four seasons with Henry from 2021-24 - also took part. Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson, New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner and Boston Celtics forward Luka Garza were among those who came by to watch.
The competition was uneven almost from the start. Henry and Maye were the clear class of the field and both reached the semifinals.
Arkin, an undrafted tight end, won his first match before Maye sent him home in the quarterfinals. Raridon and Morton were knocked out in the opening round, and Baringer, Byard, Morton and Andrews each went one-and-done.
Morton, the Patriots’ rookie third-string quarterback, dropped his match 11-1.
Maye’s run ended in the semifinals with an 11-8 loss to defending champion Julian, from Germany. Henry then punched his ticket to the final with a 15-13 comeback after trailing 10-7. That set up a rematch of last year’s championship match.
For Mark Herzlich, former Giants linebacker and current director of IJM’s Team Freedom, the event’s purpose went well beyond the table.
"It's a very unifying cause," Mark Herzlich, former New York Giants linebacker and current director of IJM's Team Freedom, told Patriots On SI. "There's not a lot of political division around protecting kids from slavery, right? ...
Hunter has done a great job of taking what is a heavy topic and bringing it into the light in a way that says, 'Hey, look, we're able to rescue kids. We're able to give these kids this freedom to play that we all have.'"
Henry has been tied to IJM for years, dating back to his Chargers days. The group’s mission is to build safer communities around the world, eradicate slavery and strengthen justice systems so criminals can be brought to account.
Last year, Henry and IJM also teamed up for his “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign. Working with Daniel Nartey - a freed child slave from Ghana - they designed the baby blue cleats Henry wore for the Patriots’ Monday Night Football game against the Giants.
The work has also taken Henry and his wife, Parker, to Africa, where they saw the organization’s efforts firsthand. They met survivors of child slavery and worked alongside local police officials in an effort to help stop the cycle of violence.
"That was really a turning point for us, being able to be there and be in the field and put faces to names and actually get to meet people," Parker Henry said. "People are not living with the same freedom and the same safety that we are, that we take so much advantage of."
Even with the competitive edge on display Monday, Henry said the bigger goal was giving teammates and others a chance to learn about the issue.
"When I was young, I went to certain things and was able to learn a little bit about different causes," Hunter Henry said. "It's always good to get young guys and teach them some things, teach them different issues that are going on, maybe that they can support (and) maybe that they can be involved with in some aspect. It's always good to have the guys here."
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