NEW PODCAST: Chris Draft, Former NFL Linebacker

By Jason Romano Feb 26, 2019

(Photo Courtesy: Chris Draft)

THIS IS EPISODE 255 OF THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST

Chris Draft played 12 years in the NFL with the Bears, 49ers, Falcons, Panthers, Rams, Bills and Redskins. He was selected in the 1998 NFL Draft in the sixth round (157 overall).

He was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter at inside linebacker collegiately for Stanford, where he was a two-time second-team All-Pacific-10 Conference selection.

Draft is now the founder, president and CEO of the Chris Draft Family Foundation (CDFF) whose mission is to empower families to lead healthy lifestyles. He is also the co-founder of Team Draft, leading the creation of a national campaign that is changing the face of lung cancer. Draft is an internationally recognized speaker, community leader, and family and character advocate who serves as an NFL Ambassador and a national spokesperson on many health-related issues, including the care and treatment of asthma, from which he suffers, and lung cancer.

In 2006, while with the Carolina Panthers, he met Keasha Rutledge. In November 2010, after Draft had announced his retirement from the NFL, Rutledge was the vision of health and a non-smoker, doing P90X and preparing to run in a 10K race. A shortness of breath led her to see her primary care physician, who ordered X-rays and discovered a mass in her chest. Additional tests and confirmed Stage IV lung cancer. On November 27, 2011, standing side-by-side, Chris and Keasha launched Team Draft at their wedding with the expressed goal to fight lung cancer. Just one month later, Keasha lost her courageous fight and died at the age of 38.

On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Draft about manhood, faith, death and overcoming adversity. To learn more about his foundation, check out ChrisDraftFamilyFoundation.org.

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