Cy Young Award Winner Steve Stone and 1983 World Series MVP Rick Dempsey Call on America's Sports Leaders to Demand Congress Fund the American Center for Cures

As the World Series opens Friday, Stone urges league commissioners, owners and players to use this weekend's games to unite a divided country around curing disease

CHICAGO, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As the World Series opens Friday and fans across the country tune in to the NFL, NBA, NHL and WNBA, former Baltimore Orioles teammates Steve Stone, the 1980 American League Cy Young Award winner, and Rick Dempsey, the 1983 World Series MVP and Stone's catcher, today called on America's sports leaders and athletes to use their voices to demand that every member of Congress and the president fund the American Center for Cures.

"Like most people in my age group, I lost my mother to leukemia at age 60 and my father to lung cancer at age 88, as life is prone to do," said Stone. "It's well past time to find cures for the diseases that continue to plague our family and friends. That's why I wholeheartedly support the American Center for Cures, and I'm asking our small fraternity of professional athletes, highly visible individuals, to join me in speaking out."

The American Center for Cures is calling on the leaders of America's major sports leagues to stand with the movement now: Roger Goodell of the NFL, Adam Silver of the NBA, Rob Manfred of Major League Baseball, Gary Bettman of the NHL, Cathy Engelbert of the WNBA, Don Garber of Major League Soccer and Jessica Berman of the National Women's Soccer League.

"Commissioners, players and owners have a voice that carries further than almost anyone's in America, and that gives you a great opportunity for change," Stone said. "The time for America to keep watching our friends and family members suffer and die from diseases that in many cases should no longer exist has come to an end. Our athletes, particularly in the NFL, face many of these diseases at even more alarming rates. This weekend's World Series, NFL, NHL, NBA and WNBA games give you the platform to change the lives of all Americans."

The organization is also inviting athletes and sports figures across every league to speak out, including Caleb Williams, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Josh Allen, Troy Aikman, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, Aaron Judge, Christian Yelich, Dansby Swanson, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Connor Bedard, Trinity Rodman, Rose Lavelle, Carlos Alcaraz, Chris Evert and Michael Jordan.

Founded in 1999 by Lou Weisbach and Richard Boxer, M.D., the American Center for Cures is a bipartisan initiative calling on Congress to fund a national mission to prevent and cure cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, heart disease, ALS and other major diseases. Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease and cancer cost the nation more than $1.1 trillion a year, according to the most recent estimates from the Alzheimer's Impact Movement, the American Diabetes Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. The American Center for Cures' $750 billion plan, funded through U.S. Treasury bonds over six years, would cost less than the nation now spends on these four diseases in a single year.

Once funded by Congress, the American Center for Cures would launch 16 separate private-sector efforts. Fourteen would each be charged with preventing and/or curing a single disease, with a $36 billion budget. Two additional units would receive $108 billion each, one to fund all other diseases, including orphan diseases, and one to fund artificial intelligence efforts. The remaining $30 billion would be held as a reserve fund. Each effort would be led by proven business leaders working alongside leading scientists and physicians, with clear goals and accountability for results.

"This is your unique window to use your voice and demand a fully funded, business-like, accountable solution to prevent and cure disease," Stone said. "Sadly, the alternative is watching loved ones who no longer know who you are, endless shaking, the ravages of cancer and ALS. Demand that Congress and the president unite our divided country around the only 100 percent issue in America, the one we all face: disease. It will heal us physically and politically. Remember, they all work for you, and they can't keep their jobs without your vote."

Athletes, fans and families can take The Cures Pledge before Nov. 3: record a 10-second video saying who they're waiting on a cure for, ask three people by name to do the same and post it with #TheCuresPledge. Then send it to their U.S. representative, their U.S. senators and the candidates on their ballot. Every video joins the campaign's wall, where a famous name and a family member get the same space.

To learn more and take the pledge, visit thecurespledge.org or contact [email protected].

About the American Center for Cures
The American Center for Cures is a bipartisan initiative founded in 1999 by Lou Weisbach and Richard Boxer, M.D., to prevent and cure the major diseases of our time, including cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, heart disease, ALS, MS and mental illness. The American Center for Cures is a fiscally sponsored project of The Giving Back Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information, visit thecurespledge.org.

SOURCE American Center for Cures