Tim Shaw (American football)

In the 2007 NFL Draft, Shaw was drafted in the 5th round by the Carolina Panthers.

Shaw was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 26, 2008, and appeared in three games for the Jaguars that season. He spent the 2009 preseason in Jacksonville's camp before being released on September 5, 2009.[3]

The Chicago Bears signed Shaw on September 14, 2009 after opening-week injuries to linebackers Brian Urlacher and Pisa Tinoisamoa depleted their linebacking corps.[3] He set a club record for special teams tackles with 30 after an 8 tackle performance with a forced fumble and recovery against the Detroit Lions (Jan 3, 2010).[4] On January 27, 2010, the USA Today announced that Shaw had made its All-Joe Team, honoring the NFL's unsung and underrated players.[5]

On September 5, 2010, Shaw was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans. He played in 48 games over three seasons for the Titans and was their special teams captain in 2011 and 2012. He was released during final cuts on August 31, 2013.[6]

On August 19, 2014, Shaw revealed in a video that he has ALS. He then dumped a bucket of ice water over himself as part of the Ice Bucket Challenge.[10] Shaw has since been heavily involved in efforts to advance ALS research through better funding, and raise awareness about ALS using different platforms. He is considered to be a champion of the cause, and has impacted ALS communities throughout the country.

On October 14, 2014, Shaw's college friend Paul Omekanda, who played soccer at Penn State University, founded the Best Man Tim non-profit organization[11][12] to rally the Penn State community in honor of Shaw. Together, Shaw and Omekanda generated new levels of awareness and participation in the funding of ALS research by engaging the Penn State community in innovative fashion. The pair collaborated with Shaw making several television appearances[13][14] while Omekanda ran the organization in the Penn State community.[15] The organization was a first of its kind at Penn State University, having officially partnered with Penn State Athletics[16] with a focus on raising new levels of awareness about ALS in the Penn State community.[17]

In 2014, Shaw saw an increase in support from the Penn State community. Omekanda enlisted his mentor Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a close personal friend and attorney of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.,[18] who became the organization's first Board Member. He then led Best Man Tim into partnership with Penn State Athletics (having received unwavering support from Penn State's Athletic Director Sandy Barbour),[19][20] the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center,[21] the Penn State Football Lettermen's Club, chapters of the Penn State Alumni Association, and chapters of the ALS Association.[22] Kendra Chantelle of American Idol (Season 10) wrote and performed a theme song for Best Man Tim.[23][24] The number of Penn State community members rallying behind the organization to support Shaw continued to grow in size. New Best Man Tim apparel was made available that contained Penn State's official logo. Meanwhile, Shaw continued to use as many platforms as possible to raise awareness about ALS.

On March 19, 2015, Shaw addressed the Tennessee General Assembly, making a pitch that would declare the month of May as ALS Awareness Month in Tennessee.[25] On April 18, 2015, Best Man Tim held a fundraising event during Penn State's Blue White weekend that included an Ice Bucket Challenge.[26][27] Shaw attended the dedicated event where he signed autographs, posed for photographs, and enjoyed the support of hundreds of community members. A large amount of Penn State legends and lettermen supported the event, including the Paterno Family.[28][29] Jay Paterno participated in Best Man Tim's Blue White weekend event.[30][31]

On August 27, 2017, Shaw's high school renamed its football stadium after him. At halftime of a football game, the Clarenceville High School introduced the David B. McDowell Field at Shaw Stadium in honor of Shaw.[32] That same year, Shaw's book titled "Blitz Your Life: Stories From An NFL And ALS Warrior" was released.[33] Shaw has continued to help fundraise for ALS research, inspire others who are battling ALS, and make himself available wherever he can be helpful to others.[34] In 2017, Shaw was invited to speak to the current Penn State football team he spoke about his challenges after his diagnosis and spoke about his time playing football at Penn State and his experience in the NFL. His speech resonated with head coach James Franklin who posted his speech on his Twitter account which gained national attention. On November 18, 2017 Shaw was the honorary captain for Penn State's game vs the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Shaw was honored with a video tribute and standing ovation by fans along with both teams.

In 2019, Shaw participated in a Player's Tribune article about his journey with ALS[35] where he encouraged his younger self and others to "live your best life today and enjoy every little blessing."

On December 18, 2019, a documentary video was released on YouTube that covered Project Euphonia. Google teamed up with Dimitri Kenevsky to create an AI-powered live transcription application that was specifically trained to understand and transcribe Shaw’s impaired voice. Using hours of interviews as audio reference, a separate AI program was created to synthesize Shaw’s old voice. While still in beta, the hope will be to some day give Tim the ability to clearly communicate again.[36]