Kudos to the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation for another memorable banquet. The 30th Annual event will go down as one of the best ever thanks to the players who were honored and the stories of inspiration they shared (in addition to the excellent organization and presentation provided by the Ed Block staff).

O.J. Brigance was recognized with the “Tops in Courage Award” as he battles the onset of Lou Gehrig’s disease. A former player and now the Ravens director of player development, Brigance was diagnosed last summer and is suffering from increased paralysis of his limbs. The condition has no known cure and is fatal, and one’s inclination is to reach out to Brigance with pity…until you talk to him. O.J. doesn’t want pity. In fact, he embraces the disease as a challenge and reasons that it’s his purpose in life to bring awareness to the ailment by talking about it and establishing a foundation to help find a cure. In what was the most touching moment of the night (to me), Brigance stood before a crowd of 1,500 and thanked his parents for giving him life, and thanked his wife for giving him the will to continue to live. So, I’m left not feeling sorry for him, but feeling inspired by him. Thank you, O.J. Brigance.

Posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 3:03 pm.
Categories: Opinion.
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