The Rare Disease Champion Team

A four-year letter winner in high school, Anthony was twice named to the New Jersey Class 5A All-State football team.  The leading receiver and tackler in school history at Freehold Township, Anthony had finished up his second year as a member of the Penn Quakers football team with two more years left when all that changed.

Anthony made the selfless decision to sign up to donate his bone marrow through Penn’s “Be The Match” program.  While studying for finals in April, he found out he was a match with a leukemia patient and he arranged to donate his bone marrow over the summer during a break from football.

However, the surgery to remove Anthony’s bone marrow uncovered complications from a neck injury Anthony had suffered in 2018 that would bring his football playing career to an end.  Anthony still plays an active role in the Quakers team, serving as a student assistant coach and sending in defensive signals.

Anthony’s decision to become a donor led him down a different path in life but also might have saved his life.

Antwan was diagnosed with the rare blood disorder aplastic anemia in high school.  He continued to play football until the 2016 season when his rare diagnosis took a turn for the worse.

Forced to leave school, Antwan was in-and-out of the hospital, went without solid food for nearly two months and dropped down to 125 pounds.  He received a life-saving bone marrow transplant from his father in 2017 and started on the road to recovery.

Antwan returned to school in early 2018 and, prior to the start of the season, was cleared by four doctors to start playing football again after nearly 36 months away from the game.  A finalist for the 11th Rare Disease Champion Award, Antwan has appeared in every game so far for Kent State over the last two seasons.

Inspired by the voice he discovered as a rare disease patient with a platform to make a difference as a college football player, Antwan wanted to give back.  So the native of Florida started the Kent State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes, attended the Leadership Development Conference in early 2019 and oversaw the inaugural Lift For Life event as the Chapter President.

Antwan was recognized as the 2018 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year and the Columbus Touchdown Club Male Athlete of the Year.

Inspired by a high school friend and teammate who was impacted by rare diseases, George, a Wildcats’ linebacker was motivated to help the Rare Disease Community through the Davidson Wildcats football program.  George’s passion and commitment to the cause led him to start an Uplifting Athletes Chapter at Davidson College as a junior in 2018.

George worked tirelessly to get the chapter started and to engage his teammates to support the cause.  Under his leadership, the Davidson Chapter held Lift For Life events, participated in Touchdown Pledge Drive in 2018 and 2019, and hosted the first Uplifting Experience at Davidson.

George’s efforts, along with his team, led to the fourth highest fundraising total for a new chapter in Uplifting Athletes history and provided immeasurable inspiration for the Rare Disease Community.

In addition to being the co-founder, George currently serves as the Chapter President and attended the Uplifting Athletes Leadership Development Conference in 2018 and 2019.

Earlier this year, George, who has played in 40 games for Davidson at linebacker, was one of 22 players chosen for the AFCA Good Works Team.  Established in 1991, the AFCA Good Works Team recognizes a select group of college football players who have made a commitment to serving and enriching the lives of others.

A native of Wisconsin, Sam is living out his dream of playing major college football after nearly dying from complications related to his rare diagnosis.

Sam lives with congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood disorder that does not allow for the production of the ADAMTS13 enzyme, which breaks down large proteins.  In order to help his body manage, he must undergo 14-20 hours of plasma therapy every three weeks, including during the football season.

When he arrived on campus, Sam learned about the strong tradition of leadership within the Syracuse Chapter of Uplifting Athletes and, being a rare disease patient himself, the cause had purpose and special meaning to him.

A finalist for the 11th Rare Disease Champion, Sam attended the Leadership Development Conference in 2018 and 2019 and has been the Syracuse Chapter President the past two years.

Reluctant to talk about his rare diagnosis because he wants his football play to speak for itself, Sam has learned his voice is strong and his platform is big.  And in his words “I need be as much help to others as I can!”.

Sam, full-time starter in 2017 on the Orange offensive line, rotated as the sixth man in 2018 and played in every game.  This season he earned the job as the starting center before injuries forced him to the side-line early on in the season.

Diagnosed with a rare malignant melanoma on the bottom of his right foot in July of 2018, Josh, the Wildcats’ defensive standout, faced a year-long battle.

Josh endured three surgeries and a year-long treatment protocol of monthly immunotherapy treatments and missed most of the 2018 season, but he found the strength to return for the final three games in 2018.

Josh, the guy teammates call the “heartbeat of the team” completed his treatments in August of 2019 and is a full-time starter this season.  Elected the team captain by his peers, Josh is back to making impact plays for Kentucky. 

After his final treatment in August, Josh didn’t allow any video cameras and chose not to ring the bell - a tradition for patients after their final treatment.  His reason for trying to stay out of the spotlight at that moment?  “I see other people in the waiting room who are much worse than me,” he said. “And I don’t want to make them feel bad.”