Texas Longhorns Alum Sergio Kindle Diagnosed With Cancer

Unfortunately for Kindle, he is all too familiar with cancer and the pain it can cause. He watched as the disease consumed his father, Johnny Walker, who had raised Kindle and his brothers himself. 

“The scariest part is finding out that it was cancer, because the last image I have is seeing it take my father away and seeing him deteriorate from it,” Kindle said, via PennLive.com. “He was the strongest man I know.”

Luckily for Kindle, early-stage colon cancer is treatable with surgery, has a high cure rate, and a 90 to 91 percent survival rate, according to Brown University Health.

“They haven’t had anything negative to say when it comes to that, based on it being so early, and my youth and my fitness level,” Kindle said. “They think that I won’t need radiation or chemo. [The doctor] said there is a great chance it won’t come back, but it’s cancer, so you can’t just say zero percent."

Since retiring from the NFL after three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, Kindle recently took up coaching and is currently the defensive coordinator at Dallas-area Hillcrest High School. Hillcrest head coach Adrian Madise shared his confidence in Kindle to beat the cancer. 

“It’s tough,” Madise said. “God gives his strongest people the biggest tests. It’s a blessing that he found out when he did. A lot of people find out too late. It’s something that we believe he is going to be able to pull through."

Throughout his football career, Kindle has faced his fair share of hardships. He had multiple obstacles he had to overcome, and multiple injuries. Each time, he fought through them and came out of it as a better person. From head injuries to knee injuries, he has conquered them all. Now at 37 years old, he faces his hardest battle yet but continues to hold his head high. 

A Go Fund Me has been created to support Kindle and has raised over $30,000.