MADRID — Mike Sainristil dangled prizes over his head and shook them in the air, celebrating his victory. About a dozen kids from Madrid swarmed around him and some jumped to snatch their flags back.
For the past few minutes, the Washington Commanders cornerback and teammate Chris Moore had darted around a field at Real Madrid’s practice facility in pursuit of the children who tried — and ultimately failed — to evade them. It was one of the drills the Commanders put together as part of a flag football clinic last week that gave about 50 kids the chance to learn a bit more about football from NFL pros.
The trip may have had a bitter ending for Sainristil, who muffed a punt late in the fourth quarter of the Commanders’ 16-13 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in the NFL’s first game in Spain, but the hour he spent earlier in the week teaching the sport he loves to children in a foreign country resonated. He could relate to these kids.
Sainristil, 25, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He immigrated to the Boston area when he was seven months old, but his parents had lived in Haiti for their entire lives and were unfamiliar with football. He later learned about the sport through an older cousin who had grown up in the United States, but his parents thought it was too dangerous and denied his request to play.
“At first, they didn’t want us playing no football because they were just used to soccer,” Sainristil recalled earlier in the week. “So, for them, it was like, ‘Nah, I don’t want my baby playing this crazy game.’”
Sainristil’s parents eventually relented, and he has since been hooked. He relished the chance to give a group of kids in a country where knowledge about football remains limited early exposure to the game.
“Opportunities like this just show you it’s all about just having fun, at the end of the day. Take the rules and stuff out of everything and just have fun playing a sport with your friends,” Sainristil said. “Just seeing how much they’re enjoying it is cool.
“You never know what today is going to do for these kids.”
An unlikely rise to the pros
Sainristil’s father, Carlot, was a newsroom director at a radio station in Haiti. He spoke openly about politics and received threats following the country’s presidential election in 2000. Shortly after, he decided to have Sainristil, his older brother and their mother, Raymonde, move to the United States. They landed on Massachusetts because they had family there who could help them acclimate. Carlot followed soon after.
“They wanted to able to just raise us and give us a new life,” Sainristil said. “It was probably the best thing they could have done. … And just, every single day, I know I’m appreciative of that.”
Carlot and Raymonde sought to ensure their children learned about their Haitian heritage, sharing stories, showing them pictures and urging them to do research. Sainristil retains a connection to the city where he was born, which has been subject to an ongoing conflict since 2020.
“We come from a beautiful place with a beautiful culture. It’s tough to see the stuff that we’re currently dealing with back home,” he said.
Sainristil’s multicultural perspective helped him feel welcome once his family settled into the Boston area.
“I’ve always heard people say Boston is a little racist. I never experienced any of that just because it was a lot of people like me,” he said. “Even the people of different races, different backgrounds, I felt like we all were always just one. We always treated each other as one.”
That mindset stuck with Sainristil as he grew older. He believes through football, he can help that perspective become more commonplace.
Even at a young age, Sainristil understood the sport could broaden his horizons and allow him to provide for his family. While he had fun playing, “I took it very serious,” Sainristil said.
Sainristil was a three-star recruit, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and landed a scholarship to Michigan. He began his college career as a receiver and transitioned to cornerback, becoming a starter in 2022. With an all-America season in 2023, he solidified himself as an NFL prospect and was drafted in the second round in 2024.
The five years Sainristil spent at Michigan also deepened his affinity for travel and interacting with people from different cultures. Then-coach Jim Harbaugh made a tradition of taking the team on an annual trip. Their destinations ranged from D.C. and Gettysburg to Johannesburg and Cape Town. During the trip to South Africa, Michigan held a youth football clinic similar to what the Commanders did in Spain.
“Being in America, I think you only get this point of view,” Sainristil said. “Once you’re able to leave and just see other people and how they live on a day-to-day, No. 1, it makes you grateful for what you have here but, No. 2, just the experience and the knowledge and just understanding where other people come from and just what their upbringing looks like, it’s good for you to know just so you can understand people better.”
Although Sainristil has traveled often since then, the Commanders’ game in Spain was his first time in Europe. His parents also traveled to Madrid, and it drove home how he was able to accomplish what he set out to do when he started playing football.
More football fans
The NFL’s efforts to grow football internationally are only going to ramp up. From promoting flag football ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to increasing the number of international games to expanding the geographic reach of those games, the league has made it clear it is set on making football a global sport.
There isn’t a consensus among teams about whether that is a positive thing. Some view the logistics of an international game during the regular season as a hassle. Others still think it is a long shot that people in other countries will become avid NFL fans. Sainristil is part of the group who understands the league’s investment.
“I don’t see no reason why not to continue doing it and keep expanding the sport,” Sainristil said. “I feel like there’s other sports that are more common globally, but football is the one that’s not. Like, as big as football is here, you can’t just go to Europe and say, ‘Let’s go play football with the locals.’ Whereas they could pick up a basketball or pick up a soccer ball and you could just go rock out wherever.”
“As long as we’re teaching it the proper way, it’ll allow the engagement, and I think more viewership in these countries and more fans of the sport itself.”
After a promising rookie season as an outside cornerback, Sainristil has taken a step back in Year 2. He has spent most of his time at nickelback but returned to outside corner after starters Marshon Lattimore and Trey Amos were lost to injury.
His special teams miscue Sunday didn’t directly lead to the Commanders’ loss — they ended up stopping the Dolphins on their subsequent possession — but it cost them a valuable possession and time on the game clock. The team has made critical miscues all season and takes a six-game losing streak and a 3-8 record into its bye week.
“I’ve just got to be decisive of whether I want to peter [not touch] it or fair-catch it but, either way, I just got to catch the ball, no matter which one it is,” Sainristil said. “I told my teammates after we got the stop on fourth down [on the following drive], ‘I’m just super appreciative of you guys for having my back and picking me up in that situation.’”
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