A Dream Come True
- 22-year-old football player Caleb Farley’s dreams are finally coming through; getting to play pro football as the Tennessee Titans’ 22nd draft pick.
- Farley lost his mother to breast cancer in 2018, and famously walked away from football due to concerns with playing during COVID. He chose family over football.
- Farley opened up to SurvivorNet in a previous interview about dealing with his mother’s cancer diagnosis during high school.
He lost his mother Robin in 2018 to breast cancer and made the tough decision to leave college football ahead of a potential pro season due to COVID in order to protect his family. He also had two back surgeries since he was last on the field.
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Farley spoke with composure about his exciting moment, despite the emotionalyet uplifting memory of his mother.
“My mother was my biggest fan. It could have went a lot different if she was here,” the North Carolina native said. “It was a little weird because I was by myself. But once I got off camera, I got to see my family members and it was really emotional. It was like something out of a movie.”
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Farley announced the news of his opt-out in an Instagram video at the time, saying "I cannot afford to lose another parent or loved one,” he said. "Though the competitor in me badly wants to play this season, I cannot ignore what's going on in my heart and I must make the decision that brings me the most peace."
Reporters asked about the draft process and how intense it was.
“Well, this process has been absolutely bizarre for me but landing in Tennessee has been great and I’ve been enjoying every second of it,” he said. “I’m extremely grateful. I thank God, I thank Jesus Christ and my parents. I’m just extremely excited to get to Tennessee and get to work.”
He said how “frustrating” the questioning has been in general (about walking away from football in 2020, his injuries, etc.) and says “if you don’t believe in me then play against me,” meaning don’t take him and let someone else scoop him up. Farley has been off the field for 17 months so there were obviously doubts about his ability to play and he was labeled a “risk” because of his injuries and prior decision to walk.
But the Titans thankfully looked past any potential doubts and took a chance on him.
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A reporter specifically addressed Farley leaving the game while playing for Virginia Tech.
“Yeah, well I talked about the opt-out 1000 times so, you know, there’s no point to go back but I feel great,” he responded firmly, but sincerely. “I’m a Tennessee Titan, I’m extremely excited for the upcoming season. I feel great.”
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"I always had a deep passion, a deep love for the game and I always excelled at it," Farley told SurvivorNet at the time. "I knew it was something that I believed in myself and I just wanted to play for as long as I could play."
However, something besides football deeply affected his life his mom's cancer diagnosis. "My mother had a very long fought battle with cancer starting when I was really young," Farley says.
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His Mother’s Battle
Like most young kids, Farley didn’t quite know what to make of his mother’s diagnosis at first.
"My father and my mother having to sit me down and tell me that, you know, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. At this time, I still truly did not know what that means,” he told SurvivorNet in a prior interview. “And we were a very religious family, so I kind of just shrugged it off with them in which is their approach to me was we're going to put our trust in, you know, God."
Farley watched as she went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy to battle the illness. At the time, she was still working, doing treatment, while also taking care of her family. Her bravery was immense. "It was incredible to see how she fought through that and kept a smile on her face because she didn't want me to be down, um, she didn't want me to be sad. She kind of still uplifted me, even though I didn't fully understand what was going on."
Three years later, she was in remission, but unfortunately, it recurred. When Farley was in high school, his mother's cancer came back. Farley says, "We still took the same attitude. At least I did, you know, my mom was like a superhero, you know, I thought she could be anything if she beat it once she would beat it again."
Farley credits his late mother to instilling faith in him.
"My mother raised me to be very religious, very God-conscious,” he said. “That's been everything to me, and my life. That's like the building blocks of my, of my life. Anything that's happened to me, any adversity, any good times, any bad times, I've always kind of stood on that rock of faith. I can't thank her enough for how she raised me and because it was her who gave me all of that, um, spiritually, she, she just filled my heart with love and joy. I've had a happy life because of her."
We wish Caleb the best of luck with his 2021-2022 season!
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