As an awesome show of support from one cancer survivor to another, Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano wore an Eric Berry jersey to camp on Tuesday.
Berry has just recently been cleared to practice after beating Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and as most are likely aware, Pagano was struck by leukemia in 2012 and came back stronger than ever. As Berry attempts to do the same thing, he’s received vocal and symbolic support from many in the football community.
Pagano is the latest among this community to offer such support. Here he is, sporting an Eric Berry jersey, courtesy of Ian Rapoport on Instagram.
Once #ChuckStrong, Pagano is now #BerryStrong.
Pagano has been a strong support for Berry since late 2014 when the Chiefs safety was diagnosed. The two of them spoke on the phone on more than one occasion, as detailed by ESPN’s Ashley Fox. Here’s a snippet from Pagano’s account of their conversations:
“He was great,” Pagano said of Berry. “He was upbeat, positive, and he’d already had his mind made up what the outcome was going to be. That’s so important for anybody who’s going to face any type of illness, some form of cancer or anything — attitude and mindset. His was already made up. He’s young. He’s athletic. He’s healthy. But he knew right from the get-go that he was going to defeat this thing.”
And so he did.
When players or coaches become ill in the NFL, the support they receive from their peers crosses all team boundaries. It’s a credit to the brotherhood that is forged in battle and as they walk a path most of us cannot begin to fathom.
Did it just get a bit dusty in here?
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