OUR STORY

PLAY HURT: TO PUSH THROUGH ADVERSITY AND LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST, EVEN WHEN FACING THE TOUGHEST OF CIRCUMSTANCES.

Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be just like my dad. He inspired me, motivated me, pushed me, and celebrated me in every single one of my ups and downs. I always wanted to make him proud, and I set out on the same path he did playing college football in the SEC. My route was a little different from his- walking on and playing at Texas A&M University from 2016-2021, where I was able to letter for 4 years and represent the university as the team’s 12th Man. People have always asked me where I got my work ethic or how I managed to push through difficult challenges, and I’ve always had one answer: my dad. 

In July of 2021, my dad, Brad White, was diagnosed with a stage IV glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and malignant brain tumor. The news was shocking, and I could never have predicted the journey our family had in front of us. After surgery, a rehabilitation process, chemotherapy/radiation, and multiple treatments, Brad passed away on July 16, 2022. Often described as “larger than life”, the impact that Brad had on others continues to live on to this day.

Brad White was born in Rexburg, Idaho, in 1958. After high school, he made the long journey from home to attend and play football at the University of Tennessee from 1976-1980. He later went on to play in the NFL for six years from 1980-1986. This was a time when football was about as hard-nosed as it gets. My dad was my inspiration for playing football, and the game nowadays definitely has no comparison to what players were put through back in that era. Brad played 3 years at with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he went to the Indianapolis Colts, where he played for 2 more additional years. He finished up his career with one season with the Minnesota Vikings as well. He played defensive nose tackle (arguably one of the hardest positions in football) at a little over 260 pounds. It’s the very first point of contact for the play, and it’s a position that calls for brutal physicality and toughness every snap. He was way undersized, but he held his own against some of the best offensive linemen of that time. 

It’s hard to fully visualize how the NFL was back in those days, but I heard many stories from my dad, which gave me a better perspective of how impressive his career was. Before the season, the players would have to report to camp the day after the 4th of July. They would then start two-a-days and continue these every day until the season (usually not until September). To give you some comparison, my report date for camp when I played wasn’t even until August, and fully-padded two-a-day practices were banned and not even allowed anymore. My dad told me many times that his practices went on as long as the coach wanted and that could go very well into the night depending on if the coaching staff was pleased or not. Nowadays, practice has a time restriction that coaches cannot go over. Obviously, the physical toil on guys was brutal. You were expected to fight through the pain and do whatever was necessary to accomplish the job at hand. My dad was once playing in a game in Tampa when he made a tackle in the backfield. He got up and realized the running back’s steel cleat had left a giant gash across his forehead. As he went to the sideline, the trainers immediately came over and began stitching him up without adding anything to numb it. When they were done, they threw him right back into the game. As he ran on the field, he couldn’t get his helmet on due to the giant swollen lump on his head, so they decided just to take the whole front pad out of the helmet. He was right back in the game- all without skipping a beat. My dad always took pride in his drive and determination; even when things got rough, if someone was going to get the job done, it was going to be him. 

While the physical conditions were taxing, the mental aspect of the game back then was just as intense. My dad told me that during the many weeks of camp, guys would mentally lose it. After a week or two of practice, some veteran players would start getting in the heads of rookies. They’d be out on the practice field during the hot and humid summers of Tampa Bay during the second practice of the day. The practice field was right next to the airport, so they would constantly see planes take off and leave. Guys would watch the planes during the tough struggle of practice, and veteran players would begin to tell them how easy it would be to hop on a flight and head home. They would explain that the rookie could get a plane ticket by the end of that day and be headed home the very next morning. Everything was a relentless mind game- any advantage to keep your job was taken. Usually, they would show up the next day at practice and that rookie would be gone. It was survival of the fittest- just as much mentally as it was physically.

The physical and mental conditions of those days instilled a toughness in my dad that was pretty remarkable. Football played a large role in his life, and it molded him into a fearless leader ready to take on whatever was thrown at him.  After his football career, he met my mom, Cathy, and they moved to Florence, Alabama. It was during this time that he became an associate with Anderson Press and TNT Fireworks, eventually becoming a leader that helped to grow both companies tremendously into where they are today. He made lifelong friends and built impactful relationships with all of those he encountered. During this part of his life, my sister, Bailey, and myself also came along, and he was instrumental in my own accomplishments as well as my sister’s success as a musician and entrepreneur.

My dad was by far the toughest guy I’ve ever known. When it was time to go to work, he did just that no matter the circumstances. His gritty and tough mentality went hand in hand with his diligence and determination. He had multiple back surgeries due to his football days, and meanwhile, he continued to get up early in the morning (around 3am), complete a full workout, and go to work all without hesitation. He was a grinder, and when adversity was thrown at him, he handled it head on. While he was a big and intense man, he had a fun and kind heart of gold. He acted for others no matter what was required of him. While his mentality was old school, he did it for the wellbeing of those around him and because he cared about them. He went above and beyond to help his co-workers, friends, and family on a daily basis. His first thought was always on someone else, and he did whatever it took to help people in need regardless of the situation. My dad always wanted to make the most of the life given to him, so he always went above and beyond with whatever he was doing. 

In July of 2020, after a few weeks of odd behavior, a doctor checkup turned into my mom, sister, and I having to go into a room and tell my father that he had a brain tumor. The next year brought tough times- from brain surgery to learning to walk and talk again to months of chemotherapy and radiation. There definitely were no easy days, and the trials and tribulations that my dad had faced were felt by all of his family and friends. We experienced a year in which no day was guaranteed, and we all were there with my dad right until his very last breath.

Out of all the advice my dad has ever given me, one specific phrase is my favorite. For as long as I can remember, I had always heard my dad use the motto, “Play Hurt”. He instilled in me the same work ethic that he had, and I remember when he first explained the phrase to me as I was beginning my early peewee football days. In football, everyone can push through- both physically and mentally- when things are easy or when you are fully healthy. However, there’s rarely a time in football when things are easy or you are fully healthy. Week by week during the football season, your body will usually have some sort of injury that nags at you and makes everything twice as tough, and that’s just the nature of the game. You have to learn to play through it. You have to play hurt. At a simplistic level, to “play hurt” means to fight through the pain in order to get the job done. However, the meaning my dad gave it is much deeper than that. I think playing hurt exemplifies the approach to how he lived his life. Adversity in life is inevitable. We all have challenges, tough times, and problems that we face every day, but no matter what the circumstance is, you have to wake up and not let the bad affect who you are and what you’re doing. Everyone can live an easy life and do it well, but it’s those that can excel through adversity and the tough times unfazed that truly make a difference. From playing through a football game with an injury to a tough day at work to reaching deep within yourself to accomplish your dreams, there are times when we’ll all have to play hurt. Life is full of challenges, but you can’t let them stop you. You have to play hurt and live life to the fullest in even the toughest of scenarios- even with something like cancer, and my dad did just that. While having brain surgery, going through chemotherapy and radiation, and fighting a brain tumor daily, he encompassed what it means to play hurt all while using his story to positively impact those who need it.

The Play Hurt Project was created in memory of Brad and to honor his larger than life legacy. All proceeds from shirt sales and donations will benefit the National Brain Tumor Society, the largest patient advocacy organization in the United States committed to curing brain tumors and improving the lives of patients and their families.