Emmitt Smith attends the premiere of Netflix’s “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on August 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Netflix)
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Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith was on hand at AT&T Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 23, for the Dallas Cowboys/Philadelphia Eagles game, but not just to see his old team stage a win over their more heated division rivals.
Before and after the game, Smith spent time at one of the Cowboys’ more impressive stadium suites to talk and connect with a group of cancer survivors. The group meet-up in Arlington, Texas, was part of Depend’s sixth annual Stand Strong for Men’s Health campaign, an effort focused on prostate cancer awareness.
Smith was as eager to talk about men’s health as he was about football, if not more so.
“The reason I want to talk about prostate cancer and I’m comfortable with it is because my father went through it. For me, it’s all about spreading awareness.”
Smith pointed out that for men, “one in eight of us will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in our lifetimes.” He added, “The most important thing is for men to get screened for it. And with today’s technology, you can do it with a simple blood test to detect prostate cancer early.”
That said, Smith admitted that even in 2025, many men don’t see a doctor unless they’re sick or in pain, and often don’t even do the quick, easy health screenings that can detect diseases early and save lives. Smith also mentioned that for Black men, the chances of being diagnosed are 70% higher.
“Men (often) try to sweep things under the rug,” Smith said. “But we need to take care of our health, and it’s important to take care of our health to live the long life we all truly deserve.”
Also a part of Depend’s Stand Strong for Men’s Health Campaign is Pro Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, Jr.
Since launching the campaign in 2020, Depend has donated more than $1 million to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF). The initiative helps fund critical research from the PCF that ultimately improves the treatment of prostate cancer. During November, which is also Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, the brand committed to donating up to $300,000 from product sales. to support PCF’s critical mission.
Smith isn’t alone among Hall of Fame-caliber football players touting health awareness campaigns in 2025. In the last year, both Deion Sanders, aka “Coach Prime,” and Detroit Lions great Barry Sanders have taken up health awareness and spoken out publicly about how men over 40 should be more proactive about their health.
I think we’re still trying to help men and all people overcome the stigma around speaking to men about their problems,” said Smith. “Men are very prideful individuals. We’re all focused on taking care of our families, to be a breadwinner, a father, or a protector. But how can you be a protector if you’re not completely healthy yourself?”
Martin Knight-Jones, a vice president of marketing for Adult Care at Kimberly-Clark, spoke highly of Smith and his willingness to talk about a tough issue.
“For six years, Depend has stood behind men’s health with a simple goal: to make hard conversations easier and save lives. Through our Stand Strong for Men’s Health initiative, we’ve donated over $1 million to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and partnered with voices like Emmitt Smith—whose own family has faced this disease,” Knight-Jones said. “This year, we honored survivors with a game-day experience, celebrating their courage and the power of speaking up.”
Smith also thinks it’s critical to encourage partners and children to speak up to the men in their lives about taking care of their own health.
“I think for everyone there’s a balance, and that’s a balance of physical health, mental health, and spiritual health. All those things are very important.”
An NFL legend, constantly growing
Emmitt Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010, six years after his retirement from a remarkable 15-year NFL career. After spending 1990 to 2002 with the Dallas Cowboys, Smith played his final two seasons and 25 games with the Arizona Cardinals. But it was in Dallas where Smith made his biggest mark as a key running back at one of football’s most storied franchises.
Smith kicked off his NFL career by winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award (1990) and his first six seasons as an All-Pro. Smith would also go on to lead the NFL in rushing yards four times (1991–1993, 1995), rushing touchdowns three times (1992, 1994, 1995), and would be the league’s scoring leader in 1995. He’d also go on to win Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX with Dallas.
Smith (R), with former Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson (C) and ex-teammate Michael Irvin (L) during the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor ceremony at AT&T Stadium on December 30, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Yet, now that he’s long retired as a player, Smith is still very driven and very busy. Despite getting to work in other capacities, as an NFL analyst, a real estate investor, a philanthropist, and a winner on Dancing With The Stars, Smith emphasized that he’s not done improving personally.
He also explained how his coach at Escambia High School in Pensacola, Florida, had a huge impact that helped him not only in college and the NFL, but also in his current life.
“The key, to me, of life, is constantly wanting to grow. My high school coach, Dwight Thomas, used to say, ”It’s only a dream until you write it down, and then it becomes a goal. But he always used to say to me never to become satisfied with your success, because when you become satisfied with something, that is the day the growing stops.”
Smith also said he believes there is no limit to learning or achieving new things, and that he aims to improve every day on what he calls his strengths and weaknesses. And, his many accolades aside, Smith strives to do more and learn more, not just for his own benefit, but for
“Take off the walls of limitations. Be able to learn and grow. Learn about different cultures, learn new languages, and learn about different things, so that you’re a well-rounded individual,” Smith concluded. “So then went you meet someone new, you’re reaching them with an open mind.”
Read Frye’s interviews with Coach Prime and Barry Sanders.
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