Iowa players will wear pregame shirts honoring Kenny Arnold
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s game against Northwestern, the Iowa men’s basketball team will leave Evanston, Ill., with reason to be proud.
The decision to wear shirts honoring Kenny Arnold in pregame warm-ups is a noble gesture and a moment that the former Iowa guard will cherish for the rest of his life.
According to Arnold’s close friend and former Iowa teammate, Mike Henry, it was Fran McCaffery’s idea to wear the pregame shirts. Iowa’s head coach wanted to honor Kenny Arnold on the team’s one trip this season to the Chicago area.
Arnold currently resides in a care facility in his hometown of Chicago, his body ravaged by three decades of physical ailments, which began with a brain tumor in the mid-1980s.
“We were going to ask them about possibly having the players wear the shirts for a game, and actually Fran came up with the idea and we were all onboard with it, of course,” said Henry, who along with Arnold, was a member of Iowa’s 1980 Final Four team. “He wanted to do something for Kenny and he knew all the things we’ve been doing.
“I think it’s as great honor to have (sort of) a home game for Kenny right there in Evanston.”
Beneath McCaffery’s fiery demeanor is a man filled with love and compassion.
McCaffery lost both of his parents to cancer, while his son, West High sophomore Patrick McCaffery, had a malignant tumor removed from his thyroid barely two years ago.
So Fran McCaffery knows all about pain and suffering and helping those less fortunate. He knows to appreciate each day because they don’t last forever.
Life is precious.
And part of what makes life precious are those who share it with you.
Kenny Arnold’s body has been robbed of its ability and weakened by years of illness, but his heart, soul and mind are as a strong as ever, maybe even stronger because of all the love shown to him.
If there is anything good to come from Kenny Arnold’s unfortunate situation, it’s how his former teammates and the Iowa fans have rallied to his support.
“These are things that kind of keep him going,” Henry said. “I can’t think of a better tribute to him.”
Arnold knows that he has thousands of people hoping and praying for his happiness. That’s powerful stuff.
He knows that he has the best of best friends in the always-smiling Henry, who is sort of like a guardian angel, providing Arnold with inspiration, love and support.
Henry also lives in the Chicago area and has been at Arnold’s side throughout the 30-year struggle. They have been friends since high school, but now their bond is even stronger because of Arnold's adversity.
Henry is always thinking of ways to help his friend. His next project is for Iowa fans to wear t-shirts honoring Kenny Arnold to the Illinois game on Feb. 18 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The shirts are white, so Henry envisions it being a white-out game for a great cause.
The money raised from purchasing a shirt would be donated to the Kenny Arnold Foundation, which helps pay for his enormous medical expenses.
“That’s pretty much a done deal now, so we’re going to be getting the word out,” Henry said. “It’s been great getting the word out with what we’re trying to accomplish with Kenny and how he’s doing and everything.”
What Henry is trying to do more than anything is make life as comfortable and fulfilling as he can for Kenny Arnold.
That’s why Henry appreciates McCaffery’s decision to wear pregame shirts at Northwestern because Henry knows what it’ll mean to Arnold.
Unfortunately, Arnold can’t attend Sunday’s game, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena, because of his physical condition. His care facility also doesn’t have the Big Ten Network, so Arnold can’t watch the game on television, either.
That’ll make Henry’s visit on Monday that much better, though, because he plans to surprise Arnold with the news about the players wearing shirts in his honor.
“He’s going to just go crazy,” Henry said. “We haven’t told him about it. This kind of came together at the last minute, so I haven’t even told him.
“So we’ll go to see him tomorrow with some pictures, and it’ll be a great surprise for him.”
Arnold’s courage and zest for life has helped to inspire his friends as much as they’ve inspired him. So much good has come from a bad situation.
Hawkeye fan Marty Gallagher learned about Arnold’s situation and knew with his job as co-founder of Talk To Me Technologies that he could help improve Arnold’s quality of life.
Gallagher’s company specializes in providing communication technology. Arnold was given a speech device to help him communicate.
The device has helped to change his life. It has brought back the old Kenny, much to the joy of his family and friends.
These acts of kindness help Kenny Arnold cope with what is truly a cruel circumstance. Arnold knows that he isn’t fighting alone.
His family, his friends and his former team are doing what they can to help ease the struggle.
“It’s just an amazing story,” Henry said. “We really want to thank Fran and the players for doing it. And the fans have been absolutely amazing.”