On Sunday 2nd June we heard the sad news that Rob Burrow CBE, former rugby league player for Leeds Rhinos, England, and Great Britain, and high profile campaigner for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a condition that he was diagnosed with in 2019, had died aged 41.
His family, announcing this news, commented that “Rob has always been a true inspiration throughout his life, whether that was on the rugby league field or during his battle with MND. He never allowed others to define what he could achieve and believed in his ability to do more.”
As far as we know, Rob Burrow never expressed a faith, but the belief in himself, and the ability he had been given, shone through during his distinguished sporting career, his work to raise MND awareness and understanding, as well as the important fundraising of more than £15M for MND research with his former teammate and great friend Kevin Sinfield CBE. Sinfield commented that Rob Burrow was a “beacon of hope and inspiration”, and no one could have failed to be inspired by the sight of the two of them completing marathons, with Sinfield carrying Burrow over the line. There was real resonance here with the story in the Gospels of a disabled man’s friends carrying him to see Jesus, showing great love, not letting obstacles get in their way, lowering him through the roof to meet Christ. Carrying a friend to help them reach their goal, whether physically or metaphorically, is something we can all do.
The NHS.uk website describes MND as a ‘condition that affects the brain and nerves. It causes weakness that gets worse over time. There’s no cure for MND, but there are treatments to help reduce the impact it has on a person’s daily life. Some people live with the condition for many years. MND can significantly shorten life expectancy and, unfortunately, eventually leads to death.’ MND affects around 5,000 people in the UK.
Rob Burrow made the very most of the four and a half years he was granted after his diagnosis in 2019. The BBC News website said that he was awarded his CBE for his ‘relentless fundraising and raising awareness of MND while battling the illness himself’. ‘Relentless’ is a great word to use for him; it describes how Rob Burrow played his rugby, and how in these last few years he picked up life, tucked it under his arm, and charged head down towards the try line with it. He probably kicked it over the goal for the extra two points too. Relentlessness can be a positive Christian attribute for us all to aspire to as well, as we run the ‘good race’, seeking to live a Christ-like life in a way that makes a difference to others, doing all that God is calling us into.
‘Inspiration’ is a word that often gets applied to disabled people, but disabled people themselves can find this condescending or patronising. It can sometimes seem like they are being treated like children, congratulated for being able to do everyday tasks for themselves. In Rob Burrow’s case, however, the word ‘inspiration’ is absolutely earned, and some might say doesn’t do justice to his achievements both on and off the field. His family commented that “Rob never accepted that he couldn’t do something. He just found his way of doing it better than anyone else.” His latter years inspired many who, like him, live with a degenerative condition; his life showed them that they could still achieve important things too. As in Christ’s day, disabled people can still today often find themselves on the margins, excluded, sidelined; Rob Burrow’s life shows us that, as with the disabled people Jesus met, everyone can be included, belong, and make a real difference.
He tackled living with MND in the same way as he tackled on the rugby pitch. He worked in team with other sports people who had MND, including rugby union player Doddie Weir, who before his own death in 2022 summed up their approach by saying that “It’s like a game in a way. We are here to try to beat MND and the only way we are going to win is by collective effort.” That competitive instinct flowed through Rob Burrow and drove him on to remain positive and to use every minute he had left to make a real difference. Until the final whistle, the game isn’t over, and even though life’s game is sadly now over for Rob Burrow, the work he did continues on and will still have significant impact in the future through the millions of pounds he was involved in raising for research.
His life shows us that while he didn’t express a faith, he lived his last few years in a way that was Christ-like through how he strove to help others, to recognise the needs of people who shared his diagnosis of MND, to show that life can still be irresistible and irrepressible in the face of adversity. Rob Burrow brought hope to people with MND and we can all learn from his example, whether we are disabled ourselves or journey with someone who is. It can be easy to give up, to accept less, to get used to decline. Rob Burrow never gave up on the rugby pitch and the same applied in the last few years of his life. Let us all be inspired by his life and his legacy, pick up life’s rugby ball, and charge for the try line once more. In Christ we have a Captain charging alongside us and when our time comes to cross the try line we can say ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’ (2 Timothy 4:7).
Rob Burrow is survived by his wife, Lindsey, and their children Macy, Maya, and Jackson.
Peace,
Mark
(A version of this article appeared in Premier Christianity Magazine on 4th June 2024)
Header image credit: © Lucy Claire Illustration https://www.lucyclaireillustration.com
See also:
Samantha Milne – Crusader, Wheelchair Basketball Player, Superhero
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2021/09/09/sam-milne/
They Carried Me There, But I Walked Home!
https://theadditionalneedsblogfather.com/2019/11/12/i-walked-home/
The Additional Needs Blogfather 