(ThyBlackMan.com) One of the main reasons that sports fans watch professional sports are to see the world’s best athletes compete and do athletic feats the average person can’t do at the highest level. There is no doubt that NFL wide receivers and NBA guards are among the most well-conditioned athletes on the planet. Running dozens of routes over the course of an NFL game and running up and down an NBA court requires an extreme level of fitness that is hard for most people to accomplish as consistently as those professional athletes do. It was a major surprise to learn about the recent major health challenges facing Randy Moss, Dwyane Wade, and Nate Robinson, who are all younger than 50 years old and all were considered “plus” athletes even among the talented athletes in their professional sport during their playing careers.
A case can be made that Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss was the most exciting wide receiver to watch in NFL history. While Jerry Rice is still widely considered the Greatest of All Time of NFL wide receivers, it is hard to challenge Randy Moss’s highlight reel in the NFL among pass catchers. As an NFL wide receiver, Randy Moss’s “The Freak” nickname was more than appropriate for an athlete of his rare size, speed, and leaping ability. Since his retirement, he has endeared himself more to NFL fans as an ESPN NFL TV analyst. Back in December 2024, Moss publicly revealed that he had been battling cancer, revealing that doctors had discovered a cancerous mass in his bile duct. On a positive note, Moss made an emotional return to ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” before Kansas City took on Philadelphia on February 9th’s Super Bowl.
One of the best shooting guards in NBA history, Dwyane Wade earned the nickname “Flash” based on his explosive speed on the basketball court as a comparison to the famous comic book character. Wade made a career out of athletic plays while attacking the basketball rim and even blocking shots at a high rate for a guard. Several weeks ago, Wade revealed publicly on his podcast that he had surgery on his kidney in December 2023, with doctors removing a tumor that was later deemed to be cancerous. “My own journey to have that surgery, I think it was the first time that my family, my dad, my kids, they saw me weak,” Wade said. “That moment was probably the weakest point I’ve ever felt in my life.”
While not a Hall of Famer for his professional career like Moss and Wade, former NBA guard Nate Robinson had an NBA career to be proud of. During his NBA career, he was a three-time NBA Slam Dunk contest champion which is impressive enough and even more impressive considering Robinson was only 5 foot 9 inches tall in a league where being six feet tall is considered short. Robinson’s athleticism was apparent with in-game dunks and he provided a spark off the bench for multiple teams during an 11-year NBA career where he earned approximately $24 million. In the fall of 2022, Robinson first went public about undergoing treatment for kidney failure as he learned during his playing career 20 years ago that his kidneys weren’t functioning properly and that he would one day need a transplant. The great news is that last month, Robinson had a successful kidney transplant at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
It is eye-opening and humbling to hear of the serious health challenges that Randy Moss, Dwyane Wade, and Nate Robinson all faced before even being 50 years old. They were all great athletes who all were able to run, jump, and sprint at high levels during their playing careers yet faced life changing health concerns at relatively young ages. We wish them healthy times with their families for the rest of their lives navigating the health conditions they have faced.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines
