Jerome Bettis lofted his
putter and pointed a few feet right of a hole some
20 feet away on the sloping practice green at
Brierwood Country Club in Hamburg.
“I should be aiming way over there,” he
told his friend.
Then, as the retired Pittsburgh Steelers running back
struck the ball, Kevin Everett tilted his head and
tried to will his buddy’s ball home.
“I see it, I see it, I see it,” Everett
said, laughing.
Everett, the former Bills tight end who suffered a
spinal cord injury last September that initially left
him paralyzed, was unable to play in the inaugural
Kevin Everett Golf Classic on Monday.
But those lessons from Bettis, former Bills quarterback
Jim Kelly and the other sports stars golfing in the
fundraiser for spinal cord research were not lost on
him.
“Later on down the line, hopefully one year
I’ll be able to be out there,” Everett
said.
Everett walked with a slight limp Monday and he
continues to work at regaining full dexterity with his
hands.
Yet life is getting better every day, Everett said with
a smile that rarely left his face Monday.
He launched the Kevin Everett Foundation earlier this
year, with the goal of raising $1 million over the next
five years to benefit people with spinal cord injuries.
He released a new book, “Standing Tall: The Kevin
Everett Story.” And Everett recently married his
longtime girlfriend, Wiande, with the couple expecting
their first child in December.
“Big things will come out of him,” said
Patricia Dugas, Everett’s mother. “He loved
football and everything and he can’t play
anymore. But it doesn’t mean it stops
there.”
Everett’s inspiring story drew athletes from all
sports, including Kelly, Bettis, former Notre Dame
Heisman Trophy winner “Rocket” Ismail,
Sabres right wing Patrick Kaleta and Patrick Kane, the
Buffalo native and 2008 NHL Rookie of the Year.
“In his situation, it would be easy to close
himself off,” Bettis said. “For him to want
to do something like this, I can only help.”
Kelly knew firsthand the importance of Everett’s
cause. His son, Hunter, who died as a result of Krabbe
disease in 2005, moved Kelly to form the Hunter’s
Hope Foundation in 1997. And the Hall of Fame
quarterback remembers appreciating the early support
from his teammates and friends.
“I’ve got so many different things going on
in my life, but this [event] is one thing I put right
on my calendar,” Kelly said. “This
community will come out for you, as we’ve seen
today and I’ve seen for the last 20-some
years.”
They did Monday, with nearly every athlete personally
embracing Everett before the 12:30 p. m. shotgun start.
Kelly gave Everett a hug before the two University of
Miami graduates flashed the “U” sign with
both hands for the cameras.
The golf tournament fell while most current Bills
players were out of town, so none were able to attend
Monday.
“Guys have some things planned,” Everett
said. “You can’t get mad about that. But
hopefully they move some things around next
year.”
Everett, though, might not notice if he’s too
busy playing.
The foundation’s Web site is
kevineverettfoundation. org.
(buffalonews.com)