How NBA athletes are helping fight racial health disparities

When elite athletes, led by an iconic enterprise capital partner and a number one cancer organization, could make great strides to make sure a healthy future for all.

Featuring NBA stars Devin Booker, D’Angelo Russell and Charles Barkley; media legend Michael Wilbon; and Jim Reynolds, founding father of Loop Capital – the biggest minority-owned investment banking firm within the United States – owners Coco5, a very natural, low-calorie alternative to sweet sports drinks. Reynolds’ sports legends have joined forces with the American Cancer Society in a multi-year collaboration – the Fuel the Fight initiative – pledging to donate a portion of all Coco5 proceeds (0.05 per bottle with a minimum commitment of $300,000) to cancer treatment initiatives in underserved communities. This includes funding for key services reminiscent of screenings, educational programs and 24/7 support for cancer patients.

This partnership comes at a pivotal time as cancer rates in Black and Brown communities remain consistently high attributable to lack of access to quality health care, adequate screening and inexpensive health insurance, resulting in deaths from preventable cancers. According to American Cancer Society, Black men are greater than twice as more likely to die from prostate cancer than their white counterparts, and black women have a 41% higher breast cancer mortality rate than white women. Early detection through screening and regular visits to a health care skilled has been shown to reverse these rates. AND University of Michigan study in JAMA Oncology Analyzing data from 306,100 men – including 54,840 black men aged 59 to 71 within the Veterans Affairs system – they found that black and white men of comparable age, socioeconomic status and cancer characteristics reminiscent of levels of prostate cancer (PSA), stage and stage of cancer (markers of cancer aggressiveness) – death rates were comparable after they had similar access to care and standard treatment, highlighting the importance of routine screening and access to high-quality resources.

Reynolds, a Chicago resident and board member of the University of Chicago Medical School, was surprised to learn concerning the vast health disparities that existed in his hometown. Naturally, he jumped into motion.

Health

“The dean of the medical school asked me a question… he said Jim, do you know where the sickest population in the United States lives? My first thought was somewhere in the Deep South – maybe Appalachia, Mississippi, or Alabama – but to my surprise, it was Chicago’s South Side. I couldn’t believe it. “He said that on the South Side of Chicago we over-index every major disease that kills, including cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, lung disease… everything,” Reynolds said. “It made me aware of health disparities. Through our partnership with the American Cancer Society, I am clear on the mission and want us to work to screen Black and Brown people for cancer earlier.”

Through this collaboration, Reynold hopes to enhance cancer prevention, screening,

and awareness in traditionally underserved communities, leveraging strength

storytelling, social and sporting events and fascinating athletes to assist make a difference.

“We speak about wealth disparities, financial disparities, even education disparities, but we do not speak about health and early detection. I’ll bet you dollars a donut that you most likely know someone who died from cancer that was probably curable. It touched everyone, so now we’re talking about it,” Reynolds said. “Information is power. Quite a lot of information doesn’t reach the people we wish to succeed in in such a way that it’s received in one of the best ways, and loads of this has to do with the messenger. People will hearken to the Michael Wilbon, Charles Barkley and Devin Booker they watch on TV every night.

The Fuel the Fight initiative is an example of a radical change in sports support. It values ​​athlete ownership and social impact over pure profit. Athletes are actively difficult the outdated “shut up and play” mentality that has dominated sports for too long. By using their platforms, athletes drive positive social change. Fans and consumers have a responsibility to maintain these crucial conversations about health equity and racial disparities alive. Recognizing the ability of partnerships, social movements and even sporting gatherings can spur real change.

Reynolds and his team recognize the necessity for a long-term commitment to health equity, specializing in increasing the participation of Black and Brown people in clinical trials. However, Reynolds acknowledges that significant obstacles have to be overcome before this goal could be fully realized.

“In the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, they performed clinical trials on us without our consent or knowledge, and I think some of that suspicion still exists among Black people,” Reynolds said. “But as more and more people gain the knowledge and confidence and realize that this is something that is OK, (that) this is something that is good for you, I think there will be a turnaround.”

This cooperation is not going to replace the dream of healthy equality. It’s greater than that – a robust ally. Systemic changes are still urgently needed. Transparency in health care costs, greater availability and access to health care employees who appear to be us, and a path to universal health care – these are the last word goals. But within the meantime, some of these partnerships are a welcome sight for healthcare employees and medical staff who are uninterested in beating the identical drum with little response. It signals that others want to hitch the fight, amplify the message and reach completely latest audiences. And perhaps, just perhaps, with these influential voices at our side, the drumbeat of health equity will finally begin to interrupt the defining silence of presidency and corporations which have put profit over people.