While Luke Kuechly’s playing time has ended, his understated work off the field continues
Prior to April 7, Luke Kuechly had not tweeted — or retweeted for that matter — since July 2019. For most professional athletes in this era, that would be a long time. But not for Kuechly, whose social media presence is minimal at best. No mention of his retirement from the NFL at 28-years old. His Twitter bio still says #59 Carolina Panthers despite his name being taken down from the roster page.
In his first tweet in nine months, he retweeted a video of himself sharing a message about the importance of getting on the list to be a bone marrow donor with an organization called Project Life. He’s tweeted about being involved before, his social media is almost reserved for charitable efforts, and his picture is on their website and social media channels.
This time he was featured on a video, reminding young people around the world that there is a way that they can impact their communities when so little feels to be under their control right now with the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s the right thing to do to help out and give your time, I think that’s something that everybody’s got the same amount of time and it’s, how do you use that time,” Kuechly said in an interview with The Observer. “For something like this, you see the impact (and) I think that’s the most important part.”
Project Life first began as a grassroots organization in 1990 by a group of students at Davidson College who wished to create a national registry, especially with college students, to connect patients with potential bone marrow donors. The group has grown since then with more than 65 universities and partners involved.
The goal is simple, to save lives and cure diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell disease by growing the number of potential bone marrow and stem cell donors on the global registry. 7,500 Americans are actively searching for a donor at any time, per the Institute of Justice.
While recruiting people to get on the list has come to a pause on college campuses, due to the virus, getting involved is something that can be done in 10 minutes by filling out a form on www.giftoflife.org/PLM with 20,000 patients still looking for a match every day.
So, why Kuechly? How did he even get involved?
He’s not one to publicly promote his charity work in an over the top way, sending out press releases or boasting about the way that he chooses to allocate his time.
But Project Life is something he’s been involved in since 2013, the first cause he joined outside of supporting his teammates’ charities.
He was first introduced to Steve Luquire, CEO and founder of LGA, an advertising, public relations and digital marketing agency based in Charlotte, by Charlie Dayton, the former director of communications for the Panthers, in 2013.
When Kuechly, then in his early 20’s, first heard about it, he had the same idea as many, that the process of getting on the list would be painful or intrusive.
“The thing that I think a lot of people think about when they think of bone marrow and stuff like that is, it’s gonna be painful and they’re going to have to drill into your body and they got to pull it out, but all he did was he said, ‘hey, swab your cheek real quick, throw it in this envelope and send it out,’ and I was like, that’s all you got to do to get on the registry?’” Kuechly said. “Stuff like that, it’s easy to get involved in, and you don’t realize the impact. I didn’t realize how much of an impact it was until I was involved for a little bit longer when you realize these people that match can save people’s lives.”
Kuechly, after going over the idea with his family, who have also been involved through the years, decided to jump aboard.
Overtime he built a relationship with Luquire, whose wife, Vicki, was battling myelodysplastic syndrome or MDS, a kind of bone marrow disorder in which the body doesn’t produce enough healthy red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets. She received a bone marrow transplant from her brother, but passed away in 2014.
However, 70 percent of people in need of a marrow transplant are forced to find a donor outside of their family, per Project Life.
Kuechly’s friendship with Luquire is part of what has kept him involved over the past seven years, seeing the good work and investment that he and Project Life’s executive director Ann Henegar do in helping people get on the registry.
Luquire has spent time around many athletes over his life including his relationship with the Panthers, which dates back to the team’s beginning, assisting with selling PSLs and marketing for the Panthers. But to him Kuechly is unique.
“(Athletes are) mentors for so many people and people look up to them. And when you find someone like Luke, who is the epitome of just a wonderful human being, and he also happens to be the best linebacker in football the last eight years,” Luquire said. “He’s humble, sincere, kind, selfless.”
The goal is to have college students sign up as they are a young and diverse population. There’s been multiple events over the years that Kuechly has attended to help get students to sign up. Drives at UNC Charlotte and Boston College brought in many donors, with 10 percent of BC’s student population signing up when Kuechly returned for his jersey retirement in 2016.
Getting a diverse population to sign up, especially from historically black colleges, is a priority as bone marrow transplants are the only cure for sickle cell. Many professional athletes have the sickle cell trait, including former running back Tiki Barber, running back Tevin Coleman and former safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.
Sometimes money or time is donated and it’s hard to see the impact it can have on the people that are being helped. But there is a special moment when a donor unites with the person whose life they helped save at Project Life’s events that is truly special.
Both Luquire and Kuechly pointed out the impact of those moments and how powerful it is to see someone connect with the person that helped save their lives.
“They introduce a recipient and a donor and you can just see how excited both parties are, because the person that receives it understands that I’ve got a chance now, this is something that is hard to come by, but I had somebody that’s willing to give me that they’re willing to donate and then the person that is the donor also gets the fulfillment of that I had given this person an opportunity at life,” Kuechly said. “It’s something that you see it once and you’re like, wow this is something that I can do and and help out, it’s going to really alter people’s lives.”
Kuechly is currently taking time to figure out what is next in his first year without playing football after receiving significant support from the city of Charlotte on his announcement, from murals to messages of support. He’s just recently started talking more about the next chapter. Among his considerations are coaching or a broadcasting job, staying in football is important. He’s talked to former teammates Charles Tillman and current Panthers special teams coach Chase Blackburn about their perspectives, and been around the team facility some this offseason.
Currently he’s dealing with social distancing and staying at home just like you. He’s cooking more, going on walks and working out because it would feel “weird” if he stopped doing that.
But Project Life is something he sees himself continuing to be involved in. He looks up to former teammates and the way that they have decided to give back.
“Greg Olsen does a fantastic job with his foundation and then Thomas (Davis) as well,” Kuechly said. “Those guys are people that I’ve always looked up to and understand like those guys give back and they’re very selfless with their time, those two guys do a tremendous job as well.”
Overtime, his role in the organization has only increased.
“I think the thing that I’ve enjoyed is seeing Luke’s interest in Project Life increase and grow as we move forward,” Luquire said. “Obviously it’s been fun to watch him mature, not just as a football player, but as an individual.”
To get involved, please visit: www.giftoflife.org/PLM. More information can be found at https://www.projectlifemovement.org/.
