Emmitt Smith is one of the biggest names to ever touch a football field. He is the greatest running back of arguably America’s most famous football team of all time, the Dallas Cowboys, and is a “Dancing with the Stars” champion.
Smith is now using his platform to advocate for something larger than himself: The use of Narcan. More than 105,000 people died of a drug overdose within 12 months ending in October 2021, according to the CDC. Overdose deaths are also a leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States.
During Super Bowl LVIII week in Las Vegas, Smith stopped by rolling out to discuss why he’s advocating for the use of Narcan — whose generic name is naloxone — with Emergent BioSolutions and the Ready to Rescue campaign.
Why are you holding a box of Narcan right now?
Emergent and I are continuing to spread awareness around opioid overdoses. We’re doing that by introducing and talking to people about Narcan nasal spray. The nasal spray can help revive someone who has overdosed. If you get it in them in a timely fashion, it can help revive a person and perhaps even save their life.
So we’re trying to encourage as many people in the country to equip themselves with Narcan nasal spray. Whether you carry it in your purse, you have it at home in your first aid kit, or you have it with you in your car or something of that nature. But having it on you, just in case you or someone close to you is in need, in an emergency, because we never know when these things can occur. They occur in homes; they occur in malls; they occur on the street; they occur anywhere — and you don’t have to be on drugs to do it. But you can be accidentally around something that can cause you to overdose without even realizing it. So just be ready. Staying ready is the key.
Why is this something you’re passionate about?
I’m passionate about this because I lost a teammate to an overdose a few years ago. As recently as six, eight weeks ago, a buddy of mine lost his son. I even had a family member who was dealing with cancer and got hooked on painkillers and so forth, which became a problem. Seeing it happen up close and personal … to people that I care about makes this right here a little bit easier for me to talk about because I have life experiences.
What else do you have going on?
We have a lot going on.
We’re about to open the restaurant down here and on the strip here in Vegas, called Emmitt’s. We have a couple of private events this week and, hopefully, they will have the grand opening sometime in March. The latter part of March.
Emmitt Smith's restaurant is making progress pic.twitter.com/V2jLULiX76
— Jacob Orth (@JacobsVegasLife) February 10, 2024
