The NFL’s Jared Cook is well into his fourth year as a tight end for the Tennessee Titans. Not only does he fight on the field to raise breast cancer awareness, his commitment to raising awareness continues out of uniform. On October 5, this Titan teamed up with Chick-Fil-A corporate and took the fight against breast cancer to the community.
Amidst a crowd of fans, Jared expressed his personal connection to this life threatening illness. In 2008, unbeknownst to Jared, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer while he was a senior at the University of South Carolina. Though startled by the news of his mother’s battle when he found out, Jared understood why she withheld her personal health struggle. It was because of the special relationship a mother shares with a son. This bond and unselfish motivation prompted his mother to keep her fight private from Jared. She knew his attention was focused on making it to the NFL and did not want to chance interrupting his opportunity at realizing his dream.
“It was about the summer of ‘08 and ever since then that’s kind of been my motivation. I wanted to grind for her. And seeing what she went through, I kind of found my niche of what I can do to give back.”
Jared returns to his high school once a year where he hosts the Annual Jared Cook Classic where they auction off autographed memorabilia with all proceeds donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
You can click here to make your own donation and join Jared’s team.
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