San Francisco 49ers defensive back Deommodore Lenoir will wear custom-designed cleats on Sunday in honor of his sister and his teammate’s daughter when the 49ers face the Chicago Bears.
As part of the My Cause My Cleats campaign, NFL players can raise awareness for causes close to their hearts. Lenoir chose to honor his younger sister, Caleya, and his teammate Charvarius Ward’s late daughter, Amani Joy, who both received a diagnosis of Down syndrome.
Both girls have impacted Lenoir’s life and his cleats will highlight their lives and the Football Camp for the Stars, which gives athletes with Down syndrome the opportunity to play the game.
“My little sister Caleya, she was born with Down syndrome. I always grew up knowing that kids with Down syndrome were going to be different, but I never treated her differently,” he explained. “Kids with Down syndrome just need extra love. They are real sweet kids, and we just want to push them to be great, to show them that they can do it.”
“Reading about Down syndrome, when we first found out that she was gonna be born with it, some kids aren’t able to talk, learn or process things fast,” he said. “But once we got to see her grow up, she was picking up on things fast. It was a blessing to watch her grow up.”
This Sunday, @Dmo_lenoir’s cleats will represent A Football Camp for the Stars which aims to help those with Down syndrome 💖💜 #MyCauseMyCleats | @ShoePalace pic.twitter.com/5HbNx7pRiU
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 4, 2024
His cleats will also include the name of Amani, who tragically died in October at age one after battling heart issues and undergoing open-heart surgery.
“When I look down at the cleats, I know I’ve got her name on there. So I know I’m going to be playing for her,” said Lenoir. “My sister loves pink, and then the purple came in when I saw a picture of Mooney (Ward) and his daughter, and he had on a purple Moncler sweater. So, I added them together. I’ve got Amani on there, so I’m going to be playing for her too.”
Lenoir believes that “[i]t’s a blessing just to have kids around who are different, and it’s important to show them the way, that they can be something.”
In the U.S., it is estimated that 67% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb are killed in discriminatory, eugenic abortions. Research has found that doctors often give outdated, inaccurate information about disabilities, sometimes in a direct attempt to pressure parents into abortion. One study published in the Journal of Disability and Health revealed that the majority of doctors have a negative bias when informing parents that their preborn baby has Down syndrome.
