DATE: DECEMBER 22, 2021
FROM: MARCEE RONDAN
KASKADE–
MULTI-GRAMMY AWARD-NOMINATED MUSICIAN,
DJ AND RECORD PRODUCER–
SET AS HEADLINER FOR
CHANDLER KIMBALL FOUNDATION’S
“LIFE’S BIG WIN”
BENEFIT CONCERT
AT TEMPE, ARIZONA’S SUNBAR ON
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15
PROFITS WILL GO TO ARIZONA-BASED
NONPROFIT THAT RAISES AWARENESS OF
CHRONIC TRAUMATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY (CTE) IN YOUTH
LINE-UP FOR THE EVENT
TO ALSO INCLUDE PERFORMANCES
FROM THE EXPENDABLES AND BARDZ,
ALONG WITH APPEARANCES FROM DR. BENNET OMALU
AND FORMER ARIZONA CARDINAL ERIC HILL
Multi-Grammy Award-nominated musician, DJ and record producer Kaskade has been confirmed as the headliner for “Life’s Big Win,” a Saturday, January 15, 2022 benefit for the Chandler Kimball Foundation for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Awareness. The event at Tempe, Arizona’s Sunbar will also include performances from chart-topping reggae band The Expendables and live electronic artisty Bardz, along with appearances from renowned forensic pathologist and neurologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu (the subject of Sony Pictures’ 2015 film Concussion) who will be speaking about youth tackle football and the risks of developing CTE and former Arizona Cardinal and 12-year NFL veteran, Eric Hill.
The Chandler Kimball Foundation was founded in honor of Arizona native Chandler Kimball to raise awareness of (CTE), a brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head including concussive and sub-concussive hits. Kimball, who played tackle football from the age of nine began to develop CTE symptoms in his early twenties and as his condition began to rapidly decline, his family sought treatment with therapists and specialists. Despite these efforts, Chandler succumbed to this preventable disease and took his own life on January 15, 2019.
From winning a Pop Warner state championship in 2005 with the Scottsdale Apaches to leading the Gilbert Lonestars to an undefeated regular season and appearance in the 2006 Pop Warner state championship game, Kimball continued on to excel in high school football for the Desert Vista Thunder where he started at strong safety and won the 2011 Arizona Football State Championship. In the years that followed, his parents saw drastic changes in the young athlete.
After the loss of their son, his family wanted answers and enlisted the help of renowned forensic pathologist and neurologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, who confirmed that Chandler suffered from CTE. Upon the confirmation of Chandler’s CTE, his father Jason Kimball founded the Chandler Kimball Foundation to raise awareness of CTE and the inherent risks of youth tackle football. Research has shown that enrolling children in youth tackle football significantly increases the risk they may eventually develop CTE. A study by the Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus found “significant and surprising amount of CTE in males who had participated in amateur contact sports in their youth.”
“We are incredibly grateful to Kaskade for headlining the first annual Life’s Big Win event and for helping us to raise awareness of CTE and the dangers of youth tackle football,” Jason Kimball said. “Chandler was a big Kaskade fan and saw his shows and met him multiple times. Chandler’s love for music and his connection to Kaskade make this a perfect fit for this event and our cause.”
Tickets are on sale here. All of the event’s net proceeds will go directly to the Chandler Kimball Foundation to help educate and inform parents about CTE, and to provide family members tools and guidance they can utilize to support their decision to find alternative and safer sports for their children.
About the Chandler Kimball Foundation
The Chandler Kimball Foundation was founded in 2021 with a mission to raise awareness of CTE and share medical evidence and personal stories of families devastated by Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) caused by youth tackle football. Chandler Kimball, a talented Arizona athlete loved all sports, but his passion was football–exclusively playing tackle football at an elite level since the age of nine and winning the Arizona State Championships at the Pop Warner and High School levels. Kimball graduated from Arizona State University in 2017. Minor symptoms of CTE began manifesting in Kimball around the age of 22 and continued to gradually worsen over the next three years. Kimball succumbed to this preventable disease and took his own life on January 15, 2019. The Chandler Kimball Foundation aims to educate and inform parents about scientific studies showing that enrolling their child in youth tackle football significantly increases the risk that their child may eventually develop CTE, and to provide family members tools and guidance they can utilize to support their decision to find alternative and safer sports for their children.
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