Jack Hoffman

Jack Hoffman (September26, 2005January15, 2025) was an American high school football player and pediatric brain cancer patient. In 2012, between his first and second brain surgeries, he was introduced to Rex Burkhead, then a football player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. Subsequently, a close connection developed between Hoffman and the team. On April6, 2013, at the annual Nebraska spring game, Hoffman, aged 7, entered the game during the fourth quarter and ran for a touchdown that received national and international attention. He subsequently met with President Barack Obama, received the Best Moment ESPY Award for 2013, and the United States Senate approved a motion recognizing his role in raising awareness of pediatric brain cancer. The Team Jack Foundation was formed by his parents, Andy and Bri Hoffman, to raise money for pediatric brain research. Hoffman died on January15, 2025, of a brain tumor.

Background Hoffman was born on September26, 2005, in Atkinson, Nebraska. and he has two younger sisters, Ava and Reese. He was then flown to Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, due to the life-threatening seizure. He was subsequently diagnosed with a brain tumor. While at the hospital, Hoffman continued to have up to ten to twelve seizures per day, even though he was taking anticonvulsant medication. On May20, 2011, he had surgery, but the neurosurgeon could only remove a small portion of the tumor. The surgery was followed by another sixty weeks of chemotherapy. In October 2013, Hoffman's father reported that an MRI revealed that the remaining tumor was the same size as in an MRI done in June 2013, indicating that it was not growing. In April2014, his cancer was still in remission. and internationally. By April16, 2013, a YouTube video of the touchdown run had been viewed over seven million times. Obama told Hoffman that he was proud of him and gave him a football. When asked about his meeting with the president, Hoffman replied "I thought it was awesome."

In May2013, Upper Deck Company made a "Star Rookie" trading card for Hoffman. Upper Deck's sports marketing manager explained why they created the trading card: "Jack is the type of inspirational athlete who absolutely deserves an Upper Deck rookie card." The sale of the cards has brought in $50,000 for the Team Jack Foundation. After attending the May 16, 2014, 19th Annual Dick Vitale Gala, where Hoffman signed a trading card for Dick Vitale, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune wrote: "Yes, he may be an 8-year-old celebrity, but really, he'd much rather be a regular kid."

Hoffman's touchdown run was listed fifth in The Best Emotional Moment in sports for 2013 by USA Today. Hoffman was also one of five nominees for Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated in 2013.

Senator Deb Fischer offered a resolution to the Senate that states that pediatric brain cancer is a leading cause of death. The resolution also singles out Hoffman's touchdown run for increasing awareness of pediatric brain cancer:

Cancer returns On August5, 2014, Hoffman found out that his tumor had grown since his April 2014MRI. His father reported that in April, there was a suspicious spot in his scan, but that they had hoped that it was nothing; likely options were further chemotherapy or surgery. After consultation with Hoffman's medical team, in mid-August 2014, his parents decided to pursue a clinical trial in Boston involving a genetic therapy approach, in part because the cancer had spread to his brain stem, making surgery difficult. Results of the 13-month clinical trial enabled Hoffman to stop active treatment in 2015.

Father's cancer diagnosis and death The Hoffman family faced another cancer crisis in July2020, shortly before Jack was set to begin playing football at West Holt High School. Andy began to experience major personality changes, and on July19, suffered a seizure that led him to check into West Holt Memorial Hospital, the small facility where Jack had been born. A CT scan found a large mass in his brain, and further tests at a larger hospital three hours away in Sioux Falls, South Dakota led to a diagnosis of glioblastoma. That type of cancer is typically more aggressive than Jack's glioma, and Andy's cancer was more aggressive still; by the time he had surgery at the Mayo Clinic a few days later, he had suffered two strokes and had bleeding on his brain. Andy continued to undergo treatment, but the Mayo Clinic's head of radiation oncology told ESPN's Elizabeth Merrill that the cancer was terminal. Merrill also noted, "A 15-year-old son shouldn't have to help his dad shower or use the restroom, but during Andy's worst moments, that's what Jack has had to do. He has gone from patient to caregiver."

Second cancer recurrence and death In 2023, brain scans revealed that Hoffman's tumor had grown, and he underwent another resection surgery in summer 2024; pathology results revealed that the cancer had become more aggressive. He had enrolled in the pre-law program at the University of Nebraska at Kearney shortly after the surgery. While he made the dean's list in his first and ultimately only semester at UNK, he was unable to take final exams due to his illness. In December2024, it was said that Hoffman's latest scans that fall had found new tumor locations in his ventricular system, cerebellum, and spinal column. Hoffman died at his home on January15, 2025, at the age of 19. On May 16, 2025, Hoffman was recognized by the University of Nebraska at Kearney and conferred with an honorary degree.