A young New York Jets fan named Kyle, who was diagnosed with cancer, capitalized on his opportunity to interview Sam Darnold.
These guys aren’t robots.
No matter the hard times or circumstances, each professional athlete in the United States is a human being—a reality Bart and Lisa Simpson never quite realized when jeering Daryl Strawberry back in the early 1990s.
Marge knew. After all, mother does know best.
Unlike the Simpson kids, Kyle, an 11-year-old diehard New York Jets fan recently diagnosed with cancer, came to that very realization recently. Thanks to Jeane Coakley, SNY and the Jets organization, Kyle had a chance to interview his favorite player, quarterback Sam Darnold.
We teamed up with SNY’s Play Ball Program to set up a special interview with 11-year-old Kyle, a huge Jets fan who has recently been diagnosed with cancer.
On the other end of the interview was his favorite player: Sam Darnold 💚pic.twitter.com/q4ExEL0YrH
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 11, 2020
It started with a shocked kid without much to say. A speechless kid is oftentimes a good thing in these scenarios, but, of course, Kyle couldn’t walk away from such an opportunity without gaining critical insight.
“Which jersey do you like the most, the green, white or black?”
“Is it weird to be playing games without fans in the stands?”
“What other position would you want to play?”
Darnold’s answers, the black jersey, it is weird to play without passionate fans in the stands and tight end, sent Kyle on his way with knowledge very few people knew prior to his reporting.
For Darnold, it’s pretty safe to say nothing has gone right this season. He’s collected just 1,045 yards and three touchdowns to six interceptions through the air this season in six games. If any professional athlete had the excuse to wave away off-the-field deeds, it’s the USC product whose attempts to right his career ship have gone unanswered.
That’s just not Sam Darnold. It’s not who he is as a person, and on this day, many onlookers were reminded that every professional athlete is a human first—no matter how bleak things may look professionally.
(If only the Simpsons kids realized that three decades ago. Perhaps Straw would have never shed that tear.)
