Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell drew attention to pulmonary hypertension at the Nov. 30 game against the Buffalo Bills.
Boswell is the latest NFL player to design PH-related cleats for the My Cause, My Cleats campaign. My Cause, My Cleats is a player-led initiative where players, coaches and staff wear custom-designed cleats to spotlight causes and nonprofits they care about.
Boswell chose sMiles for Katie, a tax-exempt public charity that raises PH awareness and financial support for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.
Debbie and Steve McCarthy started the charity in 2012 after their 29-year-old daughter Katie was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. She died a year later. Boswell learned about sMiles for Katie from Katie’s sister Emma McCarthy, a friend of his wife.
Since 2015, sMiles for Katie has raised about $105,000 for PHA.
“Katie’s experience brought our family to the world of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association,” Debbie told PHA in 2023. “Although it was too late for Katie, PHA provided much needed support to our family after Katie’s death.”
The McCarthy family thanks Boswell and his wife Havana, as well as the Steelers organization, for their recognition of sMiles for Katie.
