‘Dribbles To Stop Diabetes’ Hits Home for Iguodala
By Matt Welch
November 25, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Andre Iguodala (9) during the first half against the New Orleans Hornets at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 102-84. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
On Monday, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, Indiana’s Danny Granger and the WNBA’s Tamika Catchings worked alongside the American Diabetes Association to promote diabetes awareness.
In an interview that he did with Steve Aschburner for NBA.com, Iguodala talked about how the disease hit home for him personally. He told Aschburner that his grandmother and other family members as well as high school teammate Mike “Quick Draw” McGraw were affected with diabetes. “It’s something we can prevent. There’s 26 million Americans who have it, and only about 10 percent are Type 1. The other 90 percent can watch their diet and be active,” he told NBA.com.
When he’s not on the court, Iguodala talks to young people about diabetes and how to keep healthy. He tells kids to get out and exercise and to eat healthy. While this is nothing that they haven’t heard from their gym teachers at school (hopefully), they might react a little better to an NBA star like Iguodala.
Iggy says it’s not just the kids that he talks to about this problem. “On the rookies and the young guys, I’m pretty tough. We’ve gotten into some heated arguments about what they eat. They call me, like, ‘the old dad’,” he told Aschburner later.
The NBA, WNBA, and D-League arenas have reportedly posted info about the disease in their arenas to inform players as well as fans.
I think we can all take a page out of this Olympian’s book and take a little better care of ourselves and take control of our future.
For more information, check out www.dribblestostopdiabetes.com.