31-Year-Old Super Bowl Champion Reportedly Placed in Hospice: 'It's Not Looking Good'
Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman is receiving hospice care as he fights a rare cancer, his friends, family and former teammates confirmed Tuesday.
“Broncos Country please pray for Ronnie Hillman — he’s in hospice and not doing well,” wrote former Broncos offensive lineman Orlando Franklin in a Tuesday post on Twitter.
“He’s got bad liver cancer and he’s in hospice now,” Derek Wolfe, a former Broncos defensive tackle, said Tuesday on The Drive, his radio show.
#BroncosCountry please pray for Ronnie Hillman he’s in hospice and not doing well.
— Orlando Franklin (@OFranklin74) December 20, 2022
“It’s not looking good. He has pneumonia and I’m putting it out there just to send positive vibes his way,” Wolfe said, according to KKFN-FM.
“That’s awful news,” Brandon Stokley, another of Hillman’s former teammates, said in response to Wolfe’s announcement.
Hillman’s family confirmed the news of Hillman receiving hospice care on Tuesday in a statement shared with TMZ.
According to the statement, Hillman was found to have a form of kidney cancer, renal medullary carcinoma, in August.
The statement, according to TMZ, described the disease as a “rare but highly aggressive neoplasm form of cancer that primarily affects young African Americans with sickle cell trait.”
“As a family, we hope beyond hope, and we have faith that can move mountains,” the family said, the outlet reported.
“We also understand that God’s will is not always ours; therefore, we as a family subject ourselves to the will of our Almighty God.
“We need your prayers, but we also need your understanding and respect for Ronnie and our family’s privacy at this time,” the statement reportedly read.
The 31-year-old played for the Broncos from 2012 to 2015, according to TMZ. Before his time with the Broncos, Hillman played for the San Diego State Aztecs football team.
During his time with the Broncos, Hillman helped Peyton Manning and his other teammates win Super Bowl 50, the outlet reported.
According to KKFN, Hillman played 48 games as part of the Broncos, during which he rushed for 1,845 yards with 12 touchdowns.
“He had a slow start but really picked it up and contributed a lot during the Super Bowl year,” Stokley said, according to the radio station.
The best season Hillman saw with the Broncos was in 2015, when he rushed for 863 yards, at a rate of 4.2 yards per carry, and bagged seven touchdowns in the regular season on the way to the Super Bowl championship, the New York Post reported.
Wolfe praised Hillman as a “great football player, great person, great teammate,” and “an all-around great dude,” according to TMZ.
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