Colorado outside linebacker Derek McCartney chose to miss the first two days of spring practice.
His teammates’ reaction? A standing ovation.
The sophomore wasn’t slacking. Rather, it was the exact opposite. He missed the first two days of spring ball because he donated peripheral blood stem cells to a cancer patient as a part of coach Mike MacIntyre’s work with the Be The Match organization.
The group pairs healthy donors with patients suffering from life-threatening blood cancers as a part of the National Marrow Donor Program.
“When coach got here, he was just like, ‘Hey, this is a really cool opportunity.