Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has partnered with Special Olympics to expand Unified Sports programs in North Carolina and the Caribbean.
- The two-year collaboration will support over 1,200 athletes and develop 150 new coaches, focusing on Unified flag football and basketball.
- The initiative also prioritizes mental wellness, integrating resources to help young athletes build resilience and social connections through sports.
For Carolina quarterback Bryce Young, the connection to Special Olympics started long before he walked into the Panthers’ locker room. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and former Heisman winner was raised by his father, Craig, and mother, Julie, a former special education teacher, and spending time with her students as a kid left a lasting impact on him.
Now, through his Young 9 Foundation, he is partnering with Special Olympics to help expand inclusive sports programming in North Carolina and across the Caribbean. “To be a part of Special Olympics is such an honor for me,” Young said in the announcement. “My mother was a special education teacher, and being able to engage with her students growing up meant the world to me. It’s been a big part of our lives and now coming back full circle is special for me.”
Bryce Young and Special Olympics to grow Unified Sports opportunities
The two-year partnership between Young’s foundation and Special Olympics will support the growth of Unified Sports, which brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to compete on the same teams. According to Special Olympics, more than 1,200 athletes and Unified partners are expected to benefit from expanded programming, along with the training and development of 150 new coaches. (You can hear from a handful of Special Olympics coaches in our interview here.)
In North Carolina, the partnership will focus on expanding Unified flag football through Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools programming. Currently, 10 schools and clubs offer Unified flag football in the state, with roughly 200 athletes participating.
In the Caribbean, the initiative will help expand Unified basketball programming, building on recent regional momentum that included the Special Olympics Caribbean 3x3 Unified Basketball Tournament — read why events like the Unified 3x3 Basketball World Cup could be the future of Special Olympics here.
For Unified sports, it's not about symbolic inclusion. It’s sports changing social perception in real time. “Not only will this make it possible for more people to participate, but it will give us another opportunity to showcase our strengths, successes, abilities, talents and potential," says Greg Butler, a Special Olympics North Carolina athlete.
The partnership also emphasizes mental wellness initiatives for young athletes, incorporating resources from the Strong Minds programming to help participants develop coping skills, resilience and social connection through sports.
Mental wellness as a priority should come as no surprise: Bryce’s father, Craig, has worked as a licensed therapist in the mental health field for more than 25 years, and it’s paramount to Young’s foundation: “We all have struggles,” he told the Charlotte Observer. “We all have battles. We all have stuff we gotta deal with, stuff we gotta juggle, responsibilities. It’s one message that can kind of hit everyone, which is something that always spoke to me.”
Why We Play features stories about the power of sports to bring us together, overcome obstacles, make positive change and reach everyone. Read more here.
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