NFL and Breast Cancer Awareness

NFL supporting breast cancer awareness

Written and Media by Austin Brinkman [divide]

October is the month where you see pink everywhere you look. There are pink towels,  jerseys,  ribbons and more. What’s all the pink for? The answer is breast cancer awareness month. Sports teams are typically staunch supporters of breast cancer victims during October. You may even see your favorite team sport pink on their gear.  Most popularly, The National Football League, the NFL players Association and the American Cancer Society are committed to saving lives from breast cancer and addressing this unusual form of cancer in underserved communities.

Saving early lives with cancer screenings. Image from activecalendar.com
Save lives with cancer screenings. Image from activecalendar.com

Throughout October, NFL games will feature players, coaches and referees wearing pink game apparel, as well as additional on-field branding to help raise awareness for this important campaign. Much of the apparel worn at games by players and coaches, along with special game balls and pink coins, will be auctioned off at the end of the season. All proceeds will go towards the American Cancer Society Community Health Advocates. In addition, the NFL also sells pink merchandise to their very large fan base. All proceeds from the sale of pink merchandise go towards the American Cancer Society. To date, the NFL has raised around seven million dollars for the cause.

A few other sports organizations like the NBA and the MLB also have ways of supporting breast cancer awareness and victims. Major League Baseball supports breast cancer awareness on Mother’s day by wearing pink gear and playing with pink bats. This past March and April, the MLB supported a “Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer” contest to invite all victims to share their stories. Former player Jim Thome said, “Once you get the awareness out there, and the fact that Major Leaguers are involved and we are willing to do it and be part of it, it kind of opens the door for a lot of other people to come in.”  For ten years now, Major League Baseball has supported breast cancer awareness.

Image from bknation.org
Image from bknation.org

The National Basketball Association supports breast cancer awareness by selling team gear to their favorite NBA team fans. They sell everything pink from shirts to flip flops to pencils. When you buy this type of gear, the funds go toward instruments used to find a cure and toward awareness campaigns that can save lives and families from the dangers of breast cancer. This a way for NBA players and fans to do their part in supporting the fight for breast cancer awareness and the pink ribbon support appeal.

I interviewed one of our own Greenville College students Josh Herrick about how we as students, like the NFL, can support the cause for breast cancer awareness with some course of action. Josh had some great ideas.

So now it’s time to ask yourself a question. How can you support breast cancer awareness?  Let us know your ideas in the comments!

 

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