In his recent appearance on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay recalled an anecdote that typified Aaron Donald’s commitment to accountability and sweating the details.

“I can remember one of the things that epitomizes exactly who he is,” McVay recalled, “First year we’re midway through the season we had usually started out the Wednesdays where it starts with defense while the offense was lifting. So it’s an 8 AM meeting he came in at about 30 seconds afterward and I know he was already in the building doing his normal rhythm and routine and I said ‘Where were you?’ he said ‘I was using the bathroom.’ You know, so he’s taking his sh_t, finishing up.”

“I said, ‘All right well I’m not gonna fine you.’ He says, ‘Oh no, you fine me. Man, I gotta be accountable to that.’ He made me fine him when he was late for a meeting taking a sh_t.”

Aaron Donald Demanded Fine For Taking Care of Personal Business.

Donald’s former St. Louis Rams teammate and host of the podcast, Chris Long elaborated on what this story meant about Donald’s character.

Dude, that’s who he is though. I mean not the sh_tting part. It’s not like he sh_ts all day, but I can picture that because that’s important to him. He does everything the right way.

To that, McVay chimed in;

“He never did anything that he didn’t ask of somebody else and like I think [that’s] the best way you model authentic leadership is you model the way and he did that every single day.”