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Marla Ridenour on Sports
In perhaps the most moving segment ever aired on a pre-game NFL show, host James Brown of "The NFL Today'' was unable to speak after viewing the organ donation story of Bengals receiver Chris Henry.
Tears on CBS pre-game show
The piece told how Henry's mother Carolyn Glaspy made the decision to donate her son's organs after he died after falling out of a truck driven by his fiance in December, 2010.
Henry's organs went to four people and their reunion with Glaspy was the centerpiece of the story. She carried a blanket woven with an image of her son in a Bengals uniform and posed with it, surrounded by the organ recipients and their families. Glaspy said meeting the people whose lives her son saved gave her closure.
After the story aired, Brown was unable to talk, wiping tears from his eyes and nearly breaking down. Even when the network returned from a commercial break, Brown made several mistakes. After the piece, former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason took over and his voice cracked when he said that his son Gunnar, stricken with
cystic fibrosis, may one day need a lung transplant. He urged viewers to consider organ donation.
Glaspy's decisions will have more lasting benefits. She also agreed to a study of her son's brain, which showed permanent damage that seemed surprising considering the nature of his position.
To see the feature, this link was provided by CBS Sports.
Marla Ridenour on Sports Archives
