HOUSTON (AP) -Ryan Moats was denied the chance to say a final goodbye to his mother-in-law Jonetta Collinsworth as she succumbed to breast cancer because of an ugly incident with a police officer that gained national attention.
Now the Houston Texans running back is hoping what he went through can help raise awareness about the importance of breast cancer screening.
Moats, along with players across the NFL, will wear pink shoes and gloves starting this week as part of the NFL's ``Crucial Catch'' campaign.
``If I could change anything I would love for it not to happen and for Jo to be here,'' Moats told The Associated Press about his mother-in-law. ``But bad things happen and you can make good things out of them.''
Moats found himself in the middle of a national story this spring when he was stopped outside a hospital near Dallas. He had rolled through a red light while trying to get his wife there to see her mother before she died.
Video from a dashboard camera captured the almost 13-minute incident in which the officer pulled his gun and threatened to arrest Moats instead of allowing him inside despite pleas that his mother-in-law was dying.
His wife, Tamishia, rushed into the hospital despite the officer's orders to get back in the SUV, and she was able to reach her mother before she died. By the time Moats was released, the 45-year-old Collinsworth had died.
The police officer resigned from the Dallas Police department, but has since been hired elsewhere in Texas.
``Because of what happened people recognize us and know what we went through and what my mom went through, and that way we can help get the word out to other people,'' Tamishia said. ``So if we can help one person to get detected and find out that they have cancer and get it treated early, then that's enough for us.''
Ryan Moats said Collinsworth worked to increase awareness about breast cancer during her three-year fight with the disease.
``This gives me the opportunity to show the world who she was and what she was all about and kind of leave a legacy in a way,'' Moats said. ``So that gives us the opportunity to affect other people's lives. We're trying our best to make a positive thing out of it.''
Collinsworth was a head start teacher who made sure each of her students had a birthday cake and who would buy them shoes if they needed them. It makes Ryan smile that he's honoring the memory of Collinsworth by wearing pink shoes for her because she always gave shoes to those in need.
The two were very close and Ryan said Collinsworth helped him through trying times in his professional career that included a broken leg and being released from the Philadelphia Eagles.
``There's hardships in this game,'' he said. ``She was behind me all the time, so I'm proud to go out there and represent her.''
Ryan hopes the reach of the NFL will encourage people who weren't thinking about screening to get screened.
``One of the biggest pluses to this is in order to beat this disease you need to catch it early,'' he said. ``So if people can see us wearing the pink gloves, wearing the pink shoes (and know) that hey, it's OK to be checked out. Don't be afraid.''
Tamishia and a group of Texans wives, cheerleaders and other staff members will participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure walk in downtown Houston on Saturday morning to kick off the weekend's activities.
The ``Crucial Catch'' campaign, done in conjunction with the American Cancer Society, encourages annual mammograms for women over 40. Andre Johnson and Mario Williams are also expected to wear pink shoes and gloves Sunday, and receiver Kevin Walter, who has a family member with breast cancer, plans to wear pink gloves.
``I've seen it firsthand with my wife's aunt,'' Walter said. ``She's close to us and she's been real sick and it's getting worse. You feel for her. She's in the later stages of breast cancer and it's tough. It's great to see the NFL doing this, because a lot of women have it.''
After seeing his mother-in-law's fight with the disease, Ryan Moats hopes a cure or a better way to treat it will come soon. Until then, he believes this campaign will be a success if it encourages just one person to get screened.
``That's a victory,'' he said. ``I know we always put things on stats and percentages and stuff like that. So if a person goes to get tested for cancer ... and finds out they're fine, then they say to someone: 'You should get checked,' then it just trickles down. So that .001 percent will grow. So one person can turn into millions.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
