JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There are around 1,700 professional football players in the National Football League each year. Out of those 1,700 players, six of them are Type 1 Diabetic and one of them plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Chad Muma was diagnosed when he was 13 years old. One of his first thoughts, could he still play football and go after his dream of making it in the NFL.
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“It was always a goal of mine to play in the NFL, and I wasn’t sure what NFL players had type one diabetes, and I didn’t have anyone super locally that, you know, really promoted that.”
So, the Linebacker added another goal. To not only make it in the pros, but also be living proof, for kids whose shoes he was once in, that diabetes doesn’t have to be an obstacle on the way to your dreams.
“I’m just trying to be an advocate for the kids in Jacksonville and just around the United States that have diabetes, just saying, like, you know, don’t let your diabetes hold you back from achieving the goals that you want to want to do, and you know, whatever aspirations that they have, they’ll be able to achieve it.”
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After his rookie season Muma held his inaugural Muma Movement Minicamp. A day where kids with T1D get to live the life of a professional athlete, while also giving them tips and guidelines of how to manage their condition ahead of activities.
For Courtney Wilmus, she says it’s a day that motivates her son to stay on his path to the pros.
“I’m incredibly grateful for athletes like Chad Muma that is able to kind of show that type one is doesn’t stop you, and you can do absolutely anything you set your mind to. My son was diagnosed at four years old. He’s now 14, headed to high school, and is aspiring to be an NFL player. for him, it just shows him like he can do it and he’s here, and I think it makes him want to go home and work harder.”
Just like the game of football, it takes a team to tackle diabetes. For Muma his just so happens to be one in the same. During his camp, around a dozen of his teammates came out to not only enjoy the day with some local athletes, but also support Muma and his mission.
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That included Linebacker Devin Lloyd.
“I don’t think there’s anything more important that I could be doing right now. Just honored and grateful to have the opportunity to be out here and support Chad and really, I think what he’s doing is great, you know, setting the example for these kids, and really just showing them that they can do anything they want. Nothing’s going to hold them back. You know, even their situation, that you know they can get to anywhere they want.”
The Muma Movement Minicamp had around 30 local kids show up last year. This time around, that number tripled, and Muma hopes more and more kids will get to join him as the years go on proving T1D doesn’t have to be an obstacle on their path to their dreams.
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