Star on the field, Pitt RB Conner embraces chance to make difference off it
James Conner was tired, even a little sore, as he left Pitt's practice facility after another 14-hour day that's typical during training camp.
Darkness crept over the South Side. Conner knew bed check arrived in less than two hours. Yet he wasn't going home. He had someone to see, something to do that was more important than even football.
In the midst of preparations for the most significant season of his career, Conner, the Panthers' star running back and co-captain, found time for Ian Malesiewski, a 16-year-old he didn't know until a month ago. Malesiewski lies in a bed in the Children's Institute in Squirrel Hill, paralyzed from the chest down with some movement in his arms after a freak wrestling accident in June.
Malesiewski, a star wrestler and football player at Erie Cathedral Prep, fractured two cervical vertebrae and damaged his spinal cord during his first match of the Cadet Greco-Roman Nationals in Akron, Ohio.
The mishap occurred only two weeks after Conner received the best news of his life: The Hodgkin lymphoma he had fought for six months was in remission.
The juxtaposition was too much for Conner. Why was he so fortunate and others were not? He felt a need to reach out to Malesiewski. Arrangements soon were made for a visit.
“I received my good news, and then I see all this kind of stuff,” Conner said.
Malesiewski's mother, Halli Reid, admits she was stunned and admittedly a bit leery when Conner expressed an interest in visiting her son.
“College football players have a certain persona,” she said. “But he was so kind and loving and heartfelt.”
She said Conner has made five trips to the institute, eating meals and chatting with Malesiewski while helping him keep up with social media.
“He'll text me when he can't come,” Reid said, “and ask, ‘How's my guy doing?' ”
Conner presented Malesiewski with the jersey he wore two years ago against Miami when he broke Tony Dorsett's school record for touchdowns. Malesiewski, in turn, offered him a Cathedral Prep jersey that Conner immediately put on, even though he went to rival Erie McDowell.
Conner isn't impressed with his own generosity.
“It's easy to be a good person,” he said. “Really, just treat people the way you want to be treated.”
Sometimes Reid sits with them. Sometimes she has to leave the room.
“He tells Ian sports are minor when you're fighting a battle like this,” she said, recalling one conversation. “ ‘Who cares about wrestling? Who cares about football?' ”
“He makes Ian feel so much at ease. Ian doesn't feel like he's lost as much.
“He is truly a different man, so giving. He talks to Ian like he knows exactly what he's going through, and right now I don't think anybody knows what Ian is going through.”
The story of Conner and Malesiewski wouldn't surprise the folks at Hillman Cancer Center in Shadyside, where Conner received 12 chemotherapy treatments this year. Many of those people, including UPMC oncologist Dr. Stanley Marks, will be Conner's guests at Pitt's opener Saturday at Heinz Field, seated in the first row of the student section.
Marks said Conner was unlike most patients he has treated. Conner wanted nothing to do with the privacy Marks offered. Conner insisted upon sitting among the other patients — most of whom were much older than him — and sharing his story.
“He was waging a battle similar to them,” Marks said. “Honestly, he was an inspiration to many of those patients and helped them get through their darkest times. I found that atypical for an athlete who is so highly visible in the public eye.”
When Conner returned to Hillman for two follow-up scans, including one last week, he spent a half-hour visiting with the staff, Marks said.
“He says hello to everyone,” he said. “My staff just adores him. When he comes here, everyone is holding their breath waiting to hear he's OK.
“So far, so good. His scans have been clean.”
Marks said Conner is in good physical shape. “He looks great. He looks as good as I've seen him,” Marks said.
On the field, Conner has assumed his place atop Pitt's depth chart at running back. Many hurdles remain, but among the toughest will be running out of the tunnel Saturday for his first game in a year.
“It will be emotional because there was always a chance I wouldn't play football again,” Conner said, noting his parents, four brothers and grandparents will be in the stands.
He said people he doesn't know have tweeted him, saying, “I'm going to cry when you come out of the tunnel.”
But he said he won't let the situation overwhelm him.
“I can't just think about myself,” he said. “We have to win the game.”
Conner understands his celebrity and doesn't consider it an inconvenience. He happily signed autographs and posed for pictures for two hours Thursday night at Pitt's fanfest while two security guards stood behind him.
He often is stopped at malls and airports, including Los Angeles International earlier this year, by people who want to chat.
“I never really say no,” he said. “I know a lot of people care about me.”
Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.
