Deion Sanders stood next to one of his defensive players, Nikhil Webb Walker, and watched as the sophomore delivered the heartbreaking news of his lymphoma diagnosis to his teammates.
Walker explained that he found out he had a type of blood cancer the day before he told his teammates.
The 6-foot-6, 275-pound defensive lineman will also have to do “a lot of chemotherapy” to go into remission.
The positive side is that his stage of lymphoma is “very treatable” and someone his age and fitness is in a good position to make a full recovery.
“I’ve tried to keep it a secret because I don’t want to be a distraction to the team,” Walker said. “I want to see all of you do what you do and keep winning.”
Sanders stood by Walker as he broke the news of his lymphoma diagnosis to his team.
Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer, and Walker says his stage is “very treatable.”
Sanders then explained to Walker that he was a valuable member of his team no matter how much football he played.
‘First of all, you are never a distraction. You are a blessing and you allow us to understand what life is really about,” Sanders said. “We play the college game we call football and we can make millions of dollars.”
‘And we give people satisfaction, we give them ups and downs, we give them any kind of emotion. But what you’re facing is real. And the way he approached it has been simply admirable. We love you, we appreciate you, we are here for you. Understand that we love you and that there is always a place for you here.’
Walker has played in three games this season, the last coming on Sept. 28 against Central Florida.
Before moving to Colorado, Walker played for two years at New Mexico State.
Due to the nature of his condition, Walker will likely need to be in remission to continue playing football. However, that seemed to be the furthest thing from Sanders’ mind.