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Maroon & Gold Bond...
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Friday, 29 July 2016 23:10
Doobie Kurus learned last fall that his former Gophers football teammate Ed Hawthorne was sick and desperately needed a kidney transplant.
On the surface, those two shared little in common as college students, other than being teammates in the early 1990s....
Hawthorne is a black man from Missouri who became team captain and an All-Big Ten nose tackle.
Kurus is a white New Jersey native who joined the Gophers as a walk-on and played sparingly.
They viewed themselves as brothers though, a bond forged by football. Teammates look out for each other. They take care of each other. They pick each other up when one gets knocked down — on the field or in life.
On June 30, after a lengthy process, Kurus gave Hawthorne one of his kidneys in a transplant performed at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Hawthorne says his teammate saved his life.
“Can’t thank him enough,” he said.
Their bond is a testament to their personalities and the power of relationships often formed within locker rooms.
* For those who don't know, Doobie Kurus is the founder/directopr of the Hopkins Royal Triathlon, the 2015 Triathletes Choice Race of the Year.
