Everett throws a tee party

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)