Sometime this summer, before the Carolina Panthers open training camp on July 26, Ken Lucas is going to put on a fashion show.
And no, it’s not just because the eighth-year cornerback fancies himself one of the best dressed men in the Panthers’ locker room.
Lucas’ Ken Folks Foundation is hosting a fashion show to bring awareness to causes close to his heart: homelessness and lung cancer.
“Homelessness is a big issue right now with the struggles in the economy,” said the politically astute Lucas, who has 22 career interceptions.
“And lung cancer …”
He pauses before a deep sigh.
“My father had lung cancer, but he overcame it,” Lucas continued. “That was kind of tough for me when he was going through it. I’ve never had to face any adversity like that. It made me realize how much I care for my father. It kept me from taking life for granted. That’s why, today, I want to do whatever I can to raise awareness.”
Five years ago, Lucas never could have imagined that lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men, ultimately would make a positive difference his life.
When his father, Clyde, was diagnosed with the disease, Lucas was in his second NFL season as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Life appeared perfect for the second-round draft pick out of the University of Mississippi. Off the field, he had money and celebrity. On it, he was a big-play defensive back who everyone respected.
But he felt something had been missing from his life for quite some time.
“It’s sad to say, but up until that point, I really didn’t know if I truly cared about my dad,” Lucas said. “But I feel like (the cancer diagnosis) was a way to bring us together.
“When my mom (Deborah) called and told me, the first thing I asked her was, ‘Is my dad going to die?’ Even though things were not always peaches and cream growing up, I never really knew that I truly loved him until she called and told me he had lung cancer. That was when things got better between my dad and me.”
And as his father’s health improved, Lucas’ star continued to rise. After a stellar 2004 campaign in which he intercepted a then-career-high six passes, Lucas signed with the Panthers as an unrestricted free agent. He immediately made an impact with his new team, matching his personal best interception total and becoming an emotional leader.
In 2007, Lucas started all 16 games, registering 62 solo tackles (his second-highest total to date) and a career-high two fumble recoveries. He also returned one of his two interceptions for a touchdown.
But he believes he can be much better this season.
“Whatever I can do to make this team better, I want to do it,” Lucas said emphatically.
As has always been the case with the Cleveland, Miss., native, however, his earnestness will go far beyond the boundaries of the football field.
“The way I was raised, even though I was an only child, I had a giving spirit,” Lucas said. “My folks instilled in me to always give. I was better off than a lot of people in my neighborhood, so whenever [clothes] got too small for me, instead of throwing them away, we always gave them away.
“Even now, (relatives) ask my mother and father for things, and my parents call me and say, ‘Is it all right if we do this for so-and-so?’ I’m like, ‘It’s cool.’ That’s what it’s really all about. When you bless somebody else, you continue to get blessings. But you can’t do it for just that reason; you should give because it’s in your heart to do so.”
That’s why Lucas will host a fashion show this summer in the South. That’s why he’ll continue to donate money to various other charitable causes. And that’s why he was able to view his father’s cancer diagnosis five years ago as a gift and a reminder that, despite all he’d done with his life, he needed to find a way to do more.
“Since then, I try to do whatever I can to fulfill my life while I have the opportunity,” he said. “I think a lot of us do not use that power while we have the opportunity, but I wanted to take advantage of using my name to help people while I can.”
-Story written by: C. Jemal Horton, Red Line Editorial
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