Ex-teammates' bond strengthens

Former NFL player Everson Walls, who will turn 47 three days after Christmas, has agreed to donate a kidney to former Cowboys teammate Ron Springs.

By JOANNE KORTH
Published December 24, 2006

Former NFL player Everson Walls, who will turn 47 three days after Christmas, has agreed to donate a kidney to former Cowboys teammate Ron Springs.

'Tis the season.

"Everson has done the greatest thing anybody ever could do for me," Springs said.

The men were teammates for four seasons in Dallas, 1981-84, and have been close friends for 25 years.

When Walls learned of Springs' need for a transplant, he initiated kidney-donor testing to see if he was a possible match.

Details of the transplant, when and where, will remain private.

Springs, 50, has been a diabetic since the early 1990s. He has been treated for kidney disease since 2002. His right foot was amputated 23 months ago. He is wheelchair-bound.

A pair of willing and acceptable donors were found in Springs' family - a niece and nephew - but were turned down because she was pregnant and he has weak kidneys.

"Everson Walls, you're a hero, man," former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett said. "This is an injection of new life."

You remember Walls. He played 14 seasons as a cornerback with the Cowboys, Giants and Browns. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and won a Super Bowl with the Giants.

Surely, you remember Springs. He was a fullback for eight seasons, six as Dorsett's backfield mate in Dallas before finishing his career in Tampa Bay.

Professional athletes often speak of the tight bond between teammates. Football is just a game, yet players liken their relationships to those of soldiers who trust one another with their lives.

But how many of the players who put on uniforms today would truly be willing to give a piece of themselves to save a teammate? Okay, let's put it another way: How many would feel confident scanning the huddle in search of someone to save his life?

Springs didn't even have to ask.

Walls looked in the mirror and found a donor.

Dr. Pedro Vergne-Marini, a surgeon with 35 years of experience in renal treatment and transplant surgery, is expected to perform a laparoscopy, which minimizes intrusion.

The entire process was supposed to be kept quiet. But Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs, 31-year-old son of Ron Springs, leaked the news to the Washington Post.

The plan was to let the world know when the surgery was done.

"Shawn threw a little wrench into this," Walls said. "We just want everyone to realize that it was never our intention to bring this out in the open."

Knowing it would end his career, Shawn Springs offered to donate one of his kidneys - the NFL does not allow anyone to play with just one kidney - but his father declined the offer. Ron Springs refused even to let his son be tested as a match.

But by making public Walls' intention, Shawn Springs has provided a bit of insurance for his father. It would be difficult for Walls to back out now.

Walls has not wavered.

"I had to do it anyway," Walls said.

"I couldn't sit here and do nothing."

Joanne Korth can be reached at korth @sptimes.com or 727 893-8810.

[Last modified December 23, 2006, 23:11:40]