Join the Brigance Brigade
Longtime Baltimore football fixture O.J. Brigance is currently fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and he wants you to join the cause against this debilitating illness through his foundation, Brigance’s Brigade.
As a player, the former linebacker spent seven seasons in the NFL after a standout career in Canadian football. Brigance even won a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in 2001 (fans would remember Brigance making the special teams tackle on the opening kickoff).
As a front office member, Brigance put together a stellar development system for the Ravens, even earning the award for the league’s Best Overall Player Development Program for the past two years and Most Outstanding Internship Program in 2005.
A Message from OJ
Thank you for reaching out to me as we embark on this great challenge. I am committed to living life in spite of the challenges ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) may present. The response from family, friends and the Ravens Community has been tremendous and a real encouragement.
I hope you will join me, in making use of the tremendous platform I’ve been given to find a cure for the more than 5,000 newly diagnosed patients of ALS each year. Here are a few things I am passionate about right now:
I have become the ALS Ambassador for the Robert Packard Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the only center of its kind solely devoted to finding a cure for ALS. My wife, Chanda and I have started the Brigance Brigade Fund to raise awareness for ALS.
If you would like to send a tax deductible donation click on the link below for online donations:
You can also mail your donation with The Brigance Brigade Fund in the memo payable to:
Baltimore Community Foundation
2 East Read Street 9th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21202
410-332-4171
News Clip from Fox45
Follow the link above to view this clip from Fox45.
News Clip from WBAL Channel 11
Follow the link above to view this clip from WBAL Channel 11.
Ravens Surprise Brigance With Run
More than 700 people ran Saturday for ALS research in the Fiesta 5k Run for ALS research or Lou Gehrig's disease.
Ravens Director of Player Development O.J. Brigance is in the early stages of the disease, in which the patient looses nearly all muscle function.
Brigance, a member of the 2001 Super Bowl team, has been raising money for ALS research.
Prior to the 5K run, buses carrying all of the Ravens players and staff arrived so the entire organization could run.
"O.J. is part of our family," Ravens tight end Todd heap told WBAL-TV prior to the race.
O.J. Brigance Named Honorary Chair of May 3 Race to Cure ALS, Confirms His Diagnosis by The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins
BALTIMORE, Md., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Super Bowl champ O.J. brigance, who recently confirmed a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by top doctors at The Robert Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins, is spearheading a spring footrace organized by the Center to fund research to find a cure for the syndrome commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease."
How you can join the Brigance Brigade to fight ALS
Sometimes a story is bigger than the space a newspaper article allows, which is why I’m writing more here about former Dolphins captain O.J. Brigance and his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
ALS is an incurable and terminal disease. Motor neurons shut down, causing muscles to wither until the patient can no longer breathe. Half of all ALS patients die with three years. Only 20 percent reach five years.
Insight to the Limelight
"To whom much is given, much will be expected." by Patrick Gleason
Welcome back to the Limelight blog. This week, I’d like to bring your attention to several exceptional stories, some that have received much media attention and a couple others that haven’t. The focus of this edition is courage and inspiration, both on and off the field. So without further ado…