Pink is the colour for Willie Jefferson.
Like many of his Saskatchewan Roughriders teammates — and like many of the players around the CFL — Jefferson has been wearing pink gear during his team’s games in October to help raise awareness about women’s cancers.
But Jefferson actually has been sporting pink all season. The Roughriders’ defensive end has been wearing gloves of that colour to pay tribute to his grandmother, Theresa Jefferson, who died in 2015 after a battle with breast cancer. She was 82.
“As she got older, going to the treatments took a lot out of her,” Jefferson recalled Wednesday. “Just seeing how hard it was for her to move around and do the things that she liked to do was hard on our family.
“When it came down to my dad, my brother and me and everybody else to help her out and to see how much effort it took to take care of her, I just wanted once I started playing football to be a voice for breast cancer awareness.
“Just to be around someone like that and to shed a little love, it helps a lot.”
On Saturday, Jefferson and the Roughriders will continue to pay tribute to those affected by cancer. During the team’s game against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium (5 p.m., CKRM, TSN), “I Fight For” cards will be available for fans to fill out to honour those fighting the disease.
I Fight For _________.💚
Fans: This Saturday, available at Guest Services pre-game and throughout the game, “I Fight For” cards can be picked up and filled out, honouring loved ones affected by cancer.#TD4D pic.twitter.com/2TXLtP1Mrw
— Saskatchewan Roughriders (@sskroughriders) October 23, 2018
The Roughriders also will be selling pink 3-in-1 stadium gear, with the proceeds of the sales going to support the Cameco Touchdown for Dreams program.
A partnership between Cameco, the Roughriders and the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, the Touchdown for Dreams program grants wishes to women who have been diagnosed with life-threatening forms of cancer.
The eight women in the program this year are to be at Saturday’s game.
Jefferson decided to become an ambassador for the Touchdown for Dreams program because of his grandmother. After discussing the idea with the program’s operators, he took on the role after the 2016 CFL season.
“To see the way (Theresa) was going about things and the way my dad and the people in my community helped her when things started to get hard, I wanted to do something like that in this community,” Jefferson said. “Being the person I am and having the exposure that I have with this team, I wanted to help spread the awareness of breast cancer as much as I can.
“If it’s going out and getting people to donate little things to help us grant these dreams for these ladies, that’s what I’ll do. If it’s sitting down and talking to these ladies — sometimes all they really want is somebody to talk to and to share their stories with — that’s what I’ll do.”
Jefferson is more than happy to provide the women in the program with a little motivation, because the reverse holds true as well. He noted he’s inspired when he meets them, hears their stories and sees them fighting the disease.
“Outside of granting dreams to those ladies, just to meet them and see how happy (the Touchdown for Dreams program) makes them is special,” said Jefferson, 27.
“Even before the dreams are granted, to meet those ladies and see what they’ve been through and see how you’ve helped them just by showing up to speak to them is more than enough for any player who does anything in this league.”
This season, Jefferson has formed a special bond with Prince Albert’s Verna Blocka. Her dream was to attend each of the Roughriders’ road games, so the program has made that possible.
Blocka has been flown to the site of each away game, she has been put up in the Roughriders’ hotel and she has been given tickets to the game by the home team. She also has been greeted by Jefferson, either in the hotels or at the stadiums.
Busy or not, he always finds the time.
“When we go to these away games, things start to get hectic — getting into the hotel, trying to find something to eat and things like that,” Jefferson said. “But at the end of the day, I always get that message, ‘I made it to the hotel,’ so I find a way to meet up with her, ask her how her flight was and see if she’s OK.
“If I can’t meet her at the hotel, I always can meet her before and after the game.”
In fact, Jefferson considers meeting Blocka part of his routine — just as the pink gloves have become part of his uniform.
“It’s great to see her smile and to tell her it’s going to be a good game as long as she’s cheering and doing as much as she can,” Jefferson said. “I tell her that, if she gets tired, to relax but still keep the spirit going.
“After the wins, to see her happy and smiling always brings a big smile to my face. It makes my heart swell.”
