By RUSS BROWN • Photos By UofL Athletics
Spencer Legg was scared. As an 11-year-old elementary school student, he had just been officially diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2013 after his parents, Elizabeth and Jonathan, along with his teachers, noticed him losing weight and becoming ill.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic condition where one’s pancreas makes little or no insulin, which is a hormone that turns food into energy by allowing sugar, or glucose, to enter cells. The exact cause of T1D is unknown, therefore there is no way to prevent it and there is no cure for the condition either. So, treatment is focused on managing one’s blood sugar, diet and lifestyle to prevent complications.
“I remember my parents used to talk about how much skinnier I was compared to other kids my age,” Legg recalled. “I didn’t really look like I was super healthy, I looked sick. When I was diagnosed it came as such a shock. That’s a lot to throw on someone that age. It was really scary. There was just so much coming at you, and I was scared that my life was gonna change significantly. The first question I asked the doctor was, ‘Am I going to still be able to play sports?’”
Legg, who played basketball, football and lacrosse at the time, answered that question long ago. At a formidable 6-foot-7, 200 pounds he is now a junior small forward for the University of Louisville’s nationally ranked basketball team and has drawn praise from coach Pat Kelsey for his contributions to the program, even though he rarely sees much action on game day.
Legg played for Kelsey at College of Charleston and followed him when he took the UofL job at the end of last season. While at C of C, the Washington, D.C. native started a foundation to help children deal with diabetes and when he moved to Louisville, he rebranded it as “Spencer’s Stand.”
Legg works with local families in conjunction with 502Circle, the official NIL (name, imaging, licensing) collective of UofL athletics, offering three services for T1D children: attending a UofL basketball game, a “virtual hangout” for those who can’t make it in person and a one-on-one workout with Legg at the Cardinals’ practice facility on campus, the Planet Fitness Kueber Center. The game experience includes a visit to the locker room afterwards to meet players and coaches. Legg said a major event, his biggest so far, is planned for UofL’s final regular season game on March 8 against Stanford in the KFC Yum! Center.
He noted that his approach with children is a mix of distracting them from their diagnosis and giving them advice and said it was his own experience coming to terms with diabetes that led him to form the foundation.
“When I was diagnosed and when I was first struggling with it, I wish I had someone who could have done the same thing,” he said. “I wish I had someone who told me it was possible, that I could keep playing sports.”
Spencer’s Stand accepts donations on its website and is also active on social media, including Facebook and Instagram. As evidence that Legg’s work is having an impact, the mother of a child he worked with in Charleston is planning a trip to Congress this month to advocate on behalf of type 1 diabetes.
Although Legg has appeared in only seven games for a total of 6 1/2 minutes, Kelsey makes sure people understand that he is a big part of the coach’s “25 Strong” culture that refers to the power of the unit and the pursuit of success. He describes Legg’s personality as being “dynamic,” with a sense of humor, passion, intelligence, wit, adding that “he could charm that folding chair over there.”
“What Spencer Legg is doing is truly phenomenal,” Kelsey says. “To be playing high level Division One basketball, carrying that (diabetes) cross with him every single day, and then having the heart and the passion to make a difference and to create awareness for the disease, just to see how he goes about his daily life and dealing with that, I have so much respect for him. Young people with diabetes can look up to him and see that you can make it, you can be a Division I basketball player. You can be anything you want to be.”
“And then, you know, the organization that he started is touching so many, is making such an impact. It’s special. He’s making a difference in the world and I’m proud of what he’s doing. He’s gonna write his ticket, whatever the heck he wants to do. Young people who have diabetes can look up to him and say, ‘the adversity I’m facing in life, man, you can make it.’”
Sports medicine today is much more focused on assisting T1D athletes with their diet and exercise regimen. There are a number of athletes who have thrived despite living with the disease, which hasn’t limited their excellence in competitive sports. Among them are Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray; Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews; swimmer Gary Hall Jr., winner of 10 Olympic medals; former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler; Olympic cross country skier Kris Freeman; and LPGA champion Michelle McGann.
No list exists for college basketball players with diabetes. The only other known current D-1 player with T1D is Creighton sophomore forward Isaac Traudt, who wears a glucose monitor during games. He has played an average of 17 minutes in 26 games this season for the Top 25 Bluejays.
Legg’s primary treatment is insulin injections he gives himself, and he also wears a glucose monitor.
“It was definitely a learning process,” Legg said. “It took me a while to get a hold on how to manage it and to talk about it too. I kind of wanted to keep it private. I didn’t really want to tell my classmates or friends or teachers. So, I have definitely turned the corner into running a foundation where I literally advocate for it.”
Legg, a sociology major, said he isn’t sure what direction he will take after graduation in 1 1/2 years. What he does know is that he’s glad he came to UofL with Kelsey.
“The fan base has been so warm and welcoming to me,” Legg said. “I couldn’t ask for a better basketball experience. It’s really a production at Louisville, and it’s cool to be a part of that machine.”
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