Special Olympics Missouri Athlete to Announce Chiefs NFL Draft Pick

Through Special Olympics International’s partnership with the NFL Foundation, three Special Olympics athletes were nominated to present a “Community Pick” on the third day of the NFL Draft. Out of those three nominees, Murphy was selected by the NFL Foundation due to his long-time involvement with Special Olympics Missouri, his passion for the Kansas City Chiefs, and for being a well-rounded representative and spokesperson for his fellow Special Olympics athletes and the movement around the world.

“I feel so honored and excited to be to selected for this opportunity,” Murphy said. “I am a big Chiefs fan, so getting to be a part of this experience is pretty awesome.”

Murphy is a lifelong fan of the Chiefs. He usually takes notes and statistics of players during the games, but this weekend, he will put his knowledge to good use as he introduces a NFL Draft pick for his favorite team.

For Murphy, sports are a way of life, whether it’s watching sporting events on TV, cheering on his beloved Chiefs or participating as a multi-sport athlete with Special Olympics Missouri for the past 33 years.

In June of 2019, Murphy had the opportunity to meet and interact with Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid as they participated in a public service announcement campaign to raise funds and awareness for SOMO after an EF-3 tornado hit its campus in May. Coach Reid was made aware of Arthur’s selection last Wednesday.

The NFL Draft began Thursday, April 23, and concludes Saturday, April 25. Arthur’s segment will happen Saturday.

Watch Murphy, Coach Reid and four other Special Olympics Missouri athletes behind the scenes while making the public service announcement.

Special Olympics Missouri is a year-round program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. More than 16,900 athletes participate in 16 Olympic-type sports throughout the state. Special Olympics provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy as they participate in the sharing of gifts and friendship with their fellow athletes, their family and friends, and communities across Missouri.

Special Olympics Missouri is proud of our financial health returning 85 percent of every dollar back to program services. We are privileged to be recognized with these honors: Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity, Charity Navigator 4-star rating and an inductee into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame—Class of 2013.

Thank you for trusting us with your donations, volunteer time and your goodwill.

Visit Special Olympics at www.somo.org. Engage with us on Twitter @somissouri; fb.com/specialolympicsmo; Instagram @somissouri.

Any reference regarding this press release, NFL guidelines state that you should use the #NFLDraft.

Special Olympics is a global inclusion movement using sport, health, education and leadership programs every day around the world to end discrimination against and empower people with intellectual disabilities. Founded in 1968, Special Olympics movement has grown to more than six million athletes and Unified Sports partners in over 190 countries. With the support of more than one million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and over 100,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Special Olympics is supported by individuals, foundations and partners, including Bank of America, the Christmas Records Trust, The Coca-Cola Company, ESPN, Essilor Vision Foundation, the Golisano Foundation, IKEA Foundation, the Lane Family, the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, Lions Clubs International, Safilo Group, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, TOYOTA, United Airlines, and The Walt Disney Company. Click here for a full list of partners. Engage with us on: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and our blog on Medium. Learn more at www.SpecialOlympics.org