WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — In a new Amazon Prime TV documentary, Saquon Barkley recalls the first time he went viral at Whitehall High School.
Before he became a Super Bowl champ and one of the NFL’s most talked-about players, the running back, who graduated from the high school in 2015, made headlines for a simple act of kindness — a gesture to a fellow student on the Zephyrs track and field team.
“I was running the 100-meter dash," Barkley says in "Saquon," a biopic released Thursday, Oct. 9, on Amazon Prime, that is executive-produced by famed director Martin Scorsese.
"I won the race and got the gold medal. There was also a girl who ran the 100-meter hurdles — she won, too, but there was a malfunction at the start, so they made her rerun the race.
"The second time, she was going to win again, but she hit a hurdle and ended up losing. She was upset, and I just thought, ‘That’s not right.'
“I was going to college to play football. I was only doing track for fun. I didn’t really care about that medal. So I went up to her and gave her my gold medal instead.”
Word got around quickly, and it was the first time the Zephyrs' star player got noticed for something other than his athleticism.
An intimate glimpse
Barkley's reputation as a team player is just one of the many takeaways from the 140-minute documentary produced by NFL Films, LBI Entertainment and Vision26 Studios.
The documentary is filled with nods to Barkley's Lehigh Valley roots.Amazon Prime documentary "Saquon"
While most of the film is dedicated to Barkley's ACL injury in 2020 and his headline-making decision to leave the New York Giants and sign with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, there are also tender moments.
Viewers get an intimate glimpse into Barkley’s family life — including time spent with his fiancée, Anna Congdon, and children — daughter Jada, and son Saquon Jr.
The documentary also is filled with nods to his Lehigh Valley roots.
In one scene, he revisits his former secondary school, where he is known for his charitable endeavors, including his Michael Ann (his grandmother’s name) & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation, which helps undeserved youth in the region.
'You have to see this kid'
In the first 15 minutes of the film, which Barkley started recording as a "diary" in 2018, his parents, Alibay Barkley and Tonya Johnson, recall his childhood accomplishments on the field.
"I knew since he was a little kid, he was different," Alibay Barker said.
"He was skinny, you know, on the weaker side, lacked confidence. But we all saw that he had strength." he said.Former Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert
Barkley's organized football career began with the Hokey Athletic Association when he was 8.
There, he earned the nickname "Little Barry Sanders." Sanders, who retired from the NFL in 1999, is a league legend.
"I'm not a sports person," Johnson says in the film. "I am, 'I'll make sure your clothes [are] clean, the house is clean, I cook food for you.' I was that type of mother.
"I catered to all their other needs. [Ailbay] came to me, and he's like, 'You have to come to the games, you have to see this kid.'"
On camera, former Whitehall coach Brian Gilbert also remembers Barkley’s rare blend of traits.
"He was skinny, you know, on the weaker side, lacked confidence," Gilbert said. "But we all saw that he had strength." he said.
'Having a daughter really softens you '
That "lack of confidence" had a then-teenage Barkley pondering leaving the game for good — a thought Barkley said was "immature" and "selfish."
"I wasn't committed," he said. "I wasn't lifting the way I should have. I wasn't training the way I should have. For me, that was a point in time in my life 'cause my grades weren't so good.
"I wasn't taking school seriously. I had a 1.9 GPA."
Grades aside, he was awarded a full scholarship to Penn State, where he excelled on and off the field and met his now fiancée Congdon.
They welcomed their daughter Jade in 2018 and Saquon Jr. in 2022.
"Knowing him before he was a dad versus now is like night and day," Congdon says in the film. "I think that having a daughter really softens you and changes who you are."
Throughout "Saquon," Jade, now 6, steals the show. She sings the Eagles' theme song and playfully talks with her dad in several scenes.
"When he's alone with her, it's so cool to see," Congdon says. "He'll text me and be like, 'Oh, we're gonna go to the park today. We're gonna go swimming.'
"Even when I get home from work and see what she was wearing that day, it's so cool to see how he acts when he's just with her."
Honoring his parents
Halfway through "Saquon," Alibay and Johnson (Johnson opened a resale boutique in Bethlehem) recount their move from the Bronx, New York, to the Lehigh Valley.
When Barkley was young, Alibay Barkley was a boxer until he suffered an injury, then admitted he had problems with drug use, and Johnson suggested they move to the Lehigh Valley.
The couple, who have five children, struggled financially and at one time had to "split up" and stay with different family members.
"It was so cold in our house," Johnson said. "We didn't have heating. We used to have to close the French doors together, put the heater in one room. It was a lot."
In the film, Barkley credits his mother's strong work ethic.
"There were moments when my dad didn't have a job or wasn't doing the right things, and she'd pick up two jobs and still come home and take care of the kids," he says.
In a moment that holds deep meaning for the all-pro running back — Barkley says his "biggest accomplishment" is when he bought the house for his mother in 2018.
Must-see for Eagles fans
Without giving away more spoilers, "Saquon" is a must-see for Eagles fans.
Viewers can bask in the Birds' win against the Giants in 2024 and their rousing 2025 Super Bowl win, which happened to fall on Barkley's 28th birthday.
For others, it's a film that captures an athlete and family man overcoming adversity, injuries and constant critiques.
"Filmed over 127, over 700 hours, all to capture where a lot of people will be able to relate to and see a different side of me," Barkley said.
