The Story

Two decades.
Two sports.
One standard.

Siddeeq Shabazz in his Team USA kit with two fellow sprinters after a race at the El Paso Wings Invitational

Twenty-three years ago, the Oakland Raiders drafted Siddeeq Shabazz out of New Mexico State. Last year, they may have saved his life.

A routine health evaluation with the Raiders organization flagged a heart condition doctors hadn't caught before. In November, he underwent stem cell treatment. With almost no conditioning, he entered his first-ever indoor track meet on the last day of registration — and won the national championship in the 60 meters.

Outdoors, he's now ranked 1st in the nation and 2nd in the world in the 100 meters, and 2nd in the nation and 5th in the world in the 200 meters, in the 45–49 age division.

Between hospital visits and training blocks, he ran a free football camp for high school students back home in Chaparral. Today he teaches marketing at NMSU's College of Business, raises his sons, and trains in the New Mexico heat — and by his own account, the best may still be ahead.

Siddeeq Shabazz in his NMSU Aggies football uniform, number 28 — NMSU Aggies · #28

Siddeeq Shabazz running on the field in his Oakland Raiders uniform, number 28 — Oakland Raiders · 2003 Draft Pick

Siddeeq Shabazz on the top step of the podium with a national championship medal — USATF Masters · National Champion

Two decades.Two sports.One standard.

Two decades.
Two sports.
One standard.