Ex-NFL player sets off on charity walk

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A former lineman for the New York Giants has set off on a 3,000-mile walk to raise money for Ground Zero rescue and recovery workers.

George Martin, 54, who played defensive end with the Giants for 14 years, planned to walk from the George Washington Bridge in New York to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the New York Post reported Monday.

Martin said he hopes the walk, which he titled "A Journey for 9/11," will raise $10 million for workers who served during and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"What happened at the World Trade Center was abominable," Martin told the Post.

"We didn't respond very well to our heroes. I was appalled as I kept reading in the papers that people were denied benefits or not given proper medical care."

Martin is being accompanied by a medical technician, a security worker, an event planner and a bus driver. Current and former NFL players are expected to join in for segments of the walk, the Post said.

"I hope it inspires the entire community and the entire nation to give in any capacity they can," Martin said of his trek.