Former Cowboys cornerback discusses diabetes prevention, health wisdom for Black men, and the life-changing decision to donate his kidney to Ron Springs
The three-time Pro Bowl cornerback who dominated NFL defenses for 13 seasons has spent his post-football years focused on a different kind of defense. Everson Walls, now 65, has become an advocate for health awareness in the Black community, driven partly by his extraordinary decision to donate a kidney to former teammate Ron Springs.
The Dallas native recently sat down to discuss diabetes prevention, building relationships with physicians, and the health lessons he learned from watching family members struggle with preventable conditions.
How did your relationship with Eddie Robinson shape your approach to mental health?
I was 17 years old when I first met him. My mom and I were on the hustle for a scholarship. I didn’t have one. So we went to Grambling to actually throw ourselves on the mercy of the court to see if they had one last scholarship available.
My mom drove a Corvette and she was tall and beautiful, so when you look at that whole image and you see us walking into the coach’s office, I’m sure Eddie Robinson was thinking, what the hell is going on here? But he was gracious enough. He let my mom know that your son is in good hands here. I was able to get that last scholarship at Grambling State.
When you start talking about Eddie Robinson, just the aura that he had about himself. I’ve talked to many preachers before, I grew up in the church, and preachers have that aura about them. Coach Rob had that same aura about him. Just the way he talked to you, as soothing as he was, he was also very powerful in his voice.
What three things would you share with Black men about health right now?
One thing I would share with them is to be able to understand what your legacy is. I looked at my family, I looked at the men in my family, my uncles, I looked at my aunties, and as I see them grow older, I could see what was going on with them health-wise. I could see the stomach, you could see that guys and ladies weren’t really taking care of themselves the way they should, because life gets in the way.
We didn’t talk about the importance of health. We didn’t talk about the importance of good eating. We have a tradition in the African American community of eating some of the worst foods you ever want to eat.
The second thing, the culture needs to evolve into a more healthy way of living. Number three, we need to be as stress-free as we can be in everything that we do, because that brings on a lot of unhealthy issues when you start worrying about everyday problems. If you’re worried about everything, every day in life, then you’ll never be able to live a happy life.
Can you share your vision about diabetes and the sacrifices you’ve made for others?
I had a good friend, Ron Springs. Not just a good friend, but a teammate. What I saw in Ron was a man that lived life to the fullest. But at the same time, he was a person that was having issues health-wise as well. I am blessed in my family to where diabetes is not our cross to bear. When I saw what was going on with my friend Ron Springs, my contribution to him and to our friendship, I had to step up and donate my kidney to him.
People say, well, he’s not your family member. When you’re with a friend for all this time, when your daughters are friends together, when your wives talk every day and they become close friends, well, that is family. I’m in great shape. Ron Springs was not in great shape. He needed a kidney. If I have two good kidneys and I sit on these two good kidneys and Ron Springs passes, how can I look at his family in the face and say I’m so sorry, I wish I could do more?
We are most disproportionately affected as African Americans, and especially people of color. Because of the income gap that we have, we’re gonna always be affected by this more than other races. We have to look out for each other as a culture.
How do you manage your physical activity as you get older?
I was a little unique in that regard. The culture that I was in wasn’t just the African American culture, but the retired football community culture. You have guys that work out all the time, every day, to try and be as best as we can be as players. As soon as they retire, you hear guys say, man, I’m not working out another day in my life. I remember hearing that so much from some of my teammates, and I thought to myself, how is that gonna work?
You don’t save up those workouts, they don’t accumulate in the future. You have to continue to work out. You can’t draw on workouts you had back in 1985 and say, okay, this can help me be healthy, and here it is, 2025. I think we need to be aware that it is a lifelong decision. This is a lifestyle. Health is not an individual thing. Health is a family thing. It’s a lifestyle for yourself, it’s a lifestyle for your family that they need to adopt as well.
What does it take to become a pro at having a relationship with your physician?
I have had nothing but African American doctors since I’ve retired. And those doctors have done well by me. What I’ve found out is, African Americans, we’re just so unique in regards to how we’re built and things that we have to go through. I want to talk to them about the uniqueness of being African American physically, and how that affects anything that I do in regards to my health.
Certain things about blood pressure and the medication that you have to take there. I talk to my doctors about how that affects me as an African American patient. My doctor is very aware of that, and we keep in touch with each other in regards to that all the time, and we have a special relationship from African American man to African American man, understanding the uniqueness of where we are right now in regards to our health and our culture.
What three things should current NFL players think about while they’re in the league?
When we’re talking about getting lost, we can talk financially, we can talk health-wise as well. I always talk to young people about being financially healthy. About being physically, as physically healthy as possible, before you retire.
And also when he’s talking about as a player, or just a young man, who’s looking out for his fellow man. You want to make business and life decisions before you retire. Those decisions, they need to be in place in regards to how you should practice, how you take care of yourself as a current player, and also that retired player.
How have budgets served you in your career?
At this point, my stuff is always set up. That work was done way before today, and that’s what these players have to understand. Understanding what your retirement’s gonna be by the time you get there. Being able to get some hefty negotiations as a player, that’s something that’s always gonna help you out a little bit.
I was very good at negotiations, but also just being able to understand that what your family members need to understand, that the budget is there for them as well. So many players now with NIL in colleges, with players making a lot of money in the pros these days, you have to be extremely aware of losing that money. You have to just make sure you be very conservative in how you take care of your cash.
What would be the title of your commencement speech and three key points?
The title of the speech will probably be “Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do.” I think that’s been the motivation of my life. I hated people telling me what I could or could not do when I’m sitting there watching someone do it right in front of my eyes. When you’re talking about kids coming from Morehouse, or Grambling, or any HBCU, you’re gonna have a lot of people that look at your school, and they’re gonna automatically be pessimistic about your chances to stick around or be successful.
Number one thing, don’t let anyone prejudge you, and don’t prejudge anyone. Second thing is, don’t let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. And the third thing is, when you do get successful, man, reach back and help somebody else. Please. Because we all need it. The more successful people are, then the less issues we have in life, I believe. Because that success breeds success from others.