Ryan Shazier to host ‘Run for the Black and Gold’ charity event May 15 in Pittsburgh

Ryan-Shazier-020718-USNews-Getty-FTR

Ryan Shazier to host ‘Run for the Black and Gold’ charity event May 15 in Pittsburgh originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ryan Shazier’s NFL career ended in the blink of an eye, when a head-on tackle in December of 2017 temporarily paralyzed his lower body and necessitated spinal stabilization surgery.

While it was a highly-publicized collision in a physical sport, the former Steelers star has a message to share: spinal cord injuries don’t just happen in football or other high-contact activities.

“It can happen to anyone at any given time,” Shazier told the Sporting News on Wednesday. “A lot of people think it can be from sports or riding a bike, but unfortunately someone gets hurt with a spinal cord injury pretty much every minute of the day.

“It comes from little things. I talked to someone that fell on their cat inside their home. I talked to somebody who fell on the oven in their home; people that fall down the stairs or got in a car accident. They are very simple things that people can be hurt from, that can be life-changing.”

Shazier created the Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation in 2020 to help spinal cord injury patients on their road to recovery.

One of his marquee annual events is coming up on May 15th, as the two-time Pro Bowler will host the Run for the Black and Gold horse race and celebrity jockey auction at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

It’s not a real race, as the celebrity jockeys roll dice to see which horse eventually crosses the finish line first. It’s a 50-50 raffle setup, so half of the money automatically goes to his charitable fund, and Shazier said the winner often donates the other half as well.