Last season, I witnessed the impact that Deion Sanders has on Colorado football when his team played Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
I shared in a SportsEye that “Coach Prime” fans had traveled from Arkansas, Illinois, and other states to be part of the phenomenon. Several were not Colorado fans. Indeed, they were Deion Sanders fans. This is why Sanders’ press conference last week, when he shared his battle with bladder cancer, was the most important of his Pro Football Hall of Fame and college coaching career.
“Please get yourself checked out, especially African American men,” Sanders said as he sat in overalls with a cowboy hat atop his head.
“We don’t like going to the doctors. We don’t like nothing to do with a doctor. You know that. I’m not just talking to the brothers. I’m talking to my Caucasian brothers, my Hispanic brothers, my Asian brothers, my everybody, and my sisters. And that’s all y’all, get checked out.”
I have a yearly doctor’s visit, but I skipped the requested follow-up blood work this year. I’ve never had a colonoscopy. I’ll be 65 on Sept. 6, 2025. Sanders was talking to millions of Black men – and me. He reached me. I must do better for my wife of 42 years and my daughters.
Sanders had his bladder removed in May, which was the second of two options, he said.
His other choice was a “minor surgery” that would have required weekly doctors’ visits over a “multitude of months” and “wouldn’t promise me the outcome I desired.”
He chose the more invasive surgery and, with humor and laughter, again had an impact on me.
“I can’t pee like I used to. I depend on Depends. I’m making a joke out of it, but it is real. If you see a port-a-potty on the sideline, it is real, I’m just telling you. You’re going to see one at practice, on the sideline [in games].”
The fear of an outcome such as this keeps many Black men from seeing the doctor. Maybe it’s why I see a doctor but then don’t do all I can to ensure everything is OK inside me.
I realize not having health care benefits keeps many Black people from seeing a doctor.
My annual visit is in mid-September. It is usually in August but I’m awaiting the beginning of Medicare coverage. For the next few weeks, I’m without healthcare coverage. Shame on me.
I filled my prescriptions for blood pressure medication last week without the benefit of health benefits. Together, they cost about $17 over the past two years. Without health benefits, I paid $145.18.
I’m going to get that colonoscopy, and the blood work. A brave and brash football coach has convinced me to do better.
The Reid Roundup
Of 64 ranked MLB shortstops, Masyn Winn ranked 12th following the San Diego Padres series according to a daily FantasyPros tabulation. The St. Louis Cardinals shortstop was hitting .270 with seven home runs, 41 RBIs and seven stolen bases…Bleacher Report NFL writer David Kenyon has former St. Louis Rams receiver Torry Holt among the best former NFL players awaiting induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Holt recorded 920 receptions for 13,382 yards and 74 touchdowns during his 10-year-career…Former Kansas point guard Dajuan Harris Jr., a native of Columbia, Mo., with relatives in Kirkwood, has signed with the Kortrijk Spurs of the BNXT League, the best in Belgium and the Netherlands ….The NFL Players Association has named David White as interim executive director. White is a former national executive director and chief negotiator of the Screen Actors Guild and served as board chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco…In 2023, the NFLPA selected Lloyd Howell over White for the position. Howell resigned last month after it was disclosed he helped the league bury an arbitrator’s ruling on owner collusion and had charged over $2,500 to the NFLPA for strip club visits…The MEAC, SWAC, CIAA and SIAC have announced the “HBCU4Us” initiative. Student athlete leadership and development, preservation of cultural heritage, competitive excellence, and financial sustainability are its focus.