Contact Information: Contact: Ron Arp 360.601.2991
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - May 29, 2008) - After 23 years in Orlando, the highly coveted
Butkus Award® will be presented in January 2009 in Chicago, the hometown
of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus whose career the Award honors.
The Butkus Award will be expanded to honor outstanding high school and
professional linebackers, in addition to the nation's best collegiate
linebacker. Selection will be the responsibility of 51 scouts and
journalists chosen by the Chicago-based Pro Football Weekly. The award
will be presented at a dinner and fundraiser on January 13 at the National
Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, 1431 West Taylor St., in Chicago.
However, in the mind of Dick Butkus, the purpose of the Award goes far
beyond honoring great football players. Its purpose is to counter the use
of steroids which has cast a shadow on organized sports for more than a
decade and now risks the health of teens.
"The immediate goal is to support the I Play Clean™ campaign that
encourages high school students to eat well, train hard and play with
attitude, instead of resorting to steroids and performance-enhancing
drugs," said Butkus. "Estimates range from a half-million to a million
kids are on this stuff, including young girls. We need to bring an end to
this."
The Butkus family and Pro Football Weekly are hosting a Butkus Award
Founders Reception the evening of June 11 in Chicago to engage business and
civic leaders about the Awards and its philanthropic purpose. More
information is available at www.butkusfoundation.org.
In addition, Butkus is seeking 51 Founders to provide seed capital for the
Awards expansion and the I Play Clean campaign.
Butkus became an advocate for playing clean after discovering in 2005 that
steroid use was becoming a problem at the high school level, with little or
no understanding of the consequences or the alternatives. Butkus was
motivated to act after meeting Texas businessman Don Hooton, who formed the
Taylor Hooton Foundation after his son Taylor, a promising baseball player,
committed suicide shortly after his use of steroids was discovered.
"Steroids are not a short cut. They will only cut short your health and
life, and ruin your chance to play at the next level," said Butkus.
"Saving just one kid's life will make it all worth the effort."
Butkus attended Chicago Vocational School and the University of Illinois
before his storied NFL career with the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1973,
where he played in eight straight Pro Bowls and was regarded as "the most
feared man of the game" in a Sports Illustrated cover story. Butkus was
inducted into the NFL Players Hall of Fame in 1979.
Butkus has engaged numerous philanthropic efforts since his NFL career,
including generating support for the Navy Seabees, Native Americans, a
retinitis foundation, and other charitable activities. He is joined in
philanthropic endeavors by his son Matt, a former lineman for the
University of Southern California, who lives and works in Chicago.
The Butkus Foundation was formed recently to collect and disburse
charitable proceeds for the I Play Clean program and Butkus Award.
