NFL Week 17: Players Come Together to Share Stories

December 26, 2009


NFL Week 17: Players Come Together to Share Stories
NFL Week 17: Players Come Together to Share Stories

The Chris Draft Family Foundation (CDFF) and the American Lung Association in State are working together to recognize families who are tackling asthma by sharing the stories of their battles. Professional football players have joined the cause to become captains of the CDFF’s Asthma Team and tell how they overcome their disease to be successful professional athletes. The insert name family from insert city will speak with one of the participating Asthma Team players about their fight against asthma.  

“The Asthma Team partnership with professional football players is important to young kids because it shows them they can take control of their asthma and it doesn’t have to prevent them from living a healthy, active life,” said insert Lung Association CEO.  “We are grateful to these players for helping highlight the diversity of the fight against asthma and to inspire those with the disease to keep fighting.

“The most important thing for people with asthma to know is that they can take control of the disease and properly manage their symptoms,” said Chris Draft, linebacker for the Buffalo Bills and Founder of the Chris Draft Family Foundation and Asthma Team. “By enlisting the help of other NFL players who have overcome their disease to become successful professional athletes, we are helping spread the message that asthma is manageable and doesn’t have to hold you back."

Draft is a 12-year NFL veteran and has battled asthma since college.  He also serves as the national spokesman for the Winning with Asthma campaign, working with the National Lieutenant Governor’s Association.

The Asthma Team is comprised of more than 23 million people that have asthma and their friends and family that are helping them tackle asthma. The team seeks to inspire, educate and recognize those that are tackling asthma or helping someone they know fight the disease. If you have asthma, or care for someone that does, you are already on the Asthma Team. To learn more about the Asthma Team, the NFL Captains or the Winning with Asthma campaign, visit the Asthma Team website at www.chrisdraftfamilyfoundation.org/initiatives/asthmateam.

The American Lung Association has a number of resources to help people determine their level of asthma control, and take steps to improve their asthma management and breathe easier. To learn how to take control of asthma, visit www.lungusa.org.  

About the Asthma Team™

The Asthma Team™ is a social support network driven by a nationwide coalition of individuals, families and agencies who power the Tackling Asthma™ movement of inspiration and education.  

An estimated 23 million Americans suffer from asthma, and it is one of the most common chronic conditions among children. It is the third-ranking cause of hospitalization among children, as well as a leading cause of school absenteeism, accounting for more than 14 million total missed days of school.

Every day in America:

    * 78,000 people miss school or work due to asthma.

    * 35,000 people have an asthma attack.

    * 4,600 people visit the emergency room due to asthma.

    * 1,200 people are admitted to the hospital due to asthma.

    * 10 people die from asthma.

Asthma Team Players:

Chris Draft, Buffalo Bills

Larry English, San Diego Chargers

Larry Grant, St. Louis Rams

Leonard Little, St. Louis Rams

Adam Carriker, St. Louis Rams

Gary Gibson, St. Louis Rams

Ellis Lankster, Buffalo Bills

Corey Chavous, St. Louis Rams

Haruki Nakamura, Baltimore Ravens