Super Bowl gives actress forum to raise autism awareness
As the Valley gets ready to host Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, one Super Bowl family is trying to add another topic to the football conversation.
"We want autism to be on the lips of everyone in town," said Holly Robinson Peete, actress, wife of former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete and mom to 17-year-old RJ, who was diagnosed with autism at age 3.
On Friday, Jan. 30, the couple are hosting Super Kid Honors at Joe's Crab Shack in Tempe. The event will honor Vincent Stover, a local high school football player who is autistic. It also is a fundraiser for Autism Speaks and the HollyRod Foundation, two non-profits that help support families dealing with autism.
Robinson Peete is especially happy to be in Arizona, her husband's home state, where her in-laws are spending time with their four kids. Rodney Peete was born in Mesa and attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson.
She said Autism Speaks approached her with the perfect young athlete to acknowledge at Super Kids Honors. Stover, 17, plays offensive and defensive tackle for the Mountain Lions varsity football team at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale. A member of the National Honor Society, his teammates also named him "Most Inspirational Player."
A video of Stover and his football team went viral in November, when his teammates cleared the bench and ran onto the field after they thought Stover had been tackled too aggressively.
"I'm so excited to meet him and his family. I get really starstruck to meet these kids. They're real heroes in my book," Robinson Peete said. "This is a great event to lift Vincent up and the kids on the (autism) spectrum up,"
She's also impressed with his coaches and teachers. "I think it's very important to celebrate them as well."
Robinson Peete, who is on the national board of Autism Speaks, said they chose Joe's Crab Shack to host the event because the restaurant's president, Jim Mazany, has an autistic son and has hosted other autism awareness events.
J.R. Martinez, the actor, motivational speaker, army veteran and Season 13 winner of "Dancing with the Stars," and Martellus Bennett, tight end for the Chicago Bears, will both be at the Super Kids Honors autism fundraiser.
RJ was 3 when his pediatrician said he would never speak, never play team sports, and never say "I love you" unprompted.
"He's an amazing kid," said Robinson Peete, adding he has far exceeded all those milestones. But adolescence has presented a whole new set of challenges. RJ is applying for a job, wants to get a driver's license and wants to go to college. The latter will be harder, unless they can find the right program, because reading comprehension and basic math are still difficult.
The HollyRod Foundation is working to help local families have access to smart tablets, which help those with autism communicate more effectively from an earlier age.
"It's really pretty amazing to have that kind of instant game-changer in a family," she said, noting her son didn't speak in full sentences until he was about 11, but is quite verbal today.
"He's a beautiful kid. I wouldn't change him for the world, but I would change the world for him," she said.
Super Kids Honors
What: Tailgate with Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete; honor Mountain Ridge High School football player Vincent Stover; raise money for Autism Speaks of Arizona and the HollyRod Foundation.
Details: 2-4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30. Joe's Crab Shack, 1606 W. Baseline Road, Tempe. $100, with the chance to win two Super Bowl tickets with every adult ticket purchased. Purchase tickets at hollyrod.org.