Aldine Davis’ Kees working out following cancer battle
Every time Scott Joseph sees Rodney Kees in the weight room, he breaks into a huge smile.
It never fails. Every single time. Even on a cold, dreary Tuesday afternoon in January.
The Aldine Davis head football coach simply can’t help himself.
One year ago, there wasn’t much to smile about. Kees had been diagnosed with leukemia after a lump developed on his neck. Within a few days, he went from completely normal to receiving treatment for cancer.
“(The lump) wasn’t that big, and at first, I thought it was a spider bite or something,” Kees said. “And then it started growing, and I had to go to different doctors. They sent me downtown to do some more blood work, and then they sent me to another doctor and did an ultrasound. That’s when they called my grandma and said it was leukemia.”
While receiving a diagnosis of that magnitude was shocking, Kees tried to maintain a positive attitude. The doctors had caught the cancer early, and the prognosis for recovery was good.
Still, the treatment took a toll on Kees, who was a sophomore at the time of his diagnosis in March 2022. He dropped about 50 pounds, down to 120, and most of his strength from football weight training was zapped.
“The treatment they gave me, I think it was steroids, and it made me skinny like overnight,” Kees said. “At first, I was bulked up, and then I just got skinny, and at one point, I couldn’t even feel my legs for real.”
It was a tough break for Kees, who was in line to be the Falcons’ starting running back as a junior. Instead, he spent most of the 2022 season at home recovering, away from his teammates and coaches.
“It was hard because I wanted to play, and I liked the team that we had last year,” Kees said. “I wanted to play with them.”
Joseph, who has been at Davis since 2019, vividly remembers the moment he learned about Kees’ diagnosis.
“When he texted me, I kind of just sat there stone-faced and almost started crying,” Joseph said. “This had happened to him in a matter of days. Within a week, his whole life changed.”
After undergoing months of treatment, Kees finally got a chance to reunite with his teammates last August. Before the Falcons’ season opener against Jordan, he received clearance from his doctors to ride the bus. He texted Joseph, asking to be part of the road trip. The rest of the players were thrilled to see No. 16 arrive.
“He showed up, I put a jersey on him, and we kept him hidden,” Joseph said. “Right before we leave, we go in our team meeting room, and I said, ‘There’s somebody who wants to ride the bus with us,’ and then Rodney walks through the door, and those kids erupted, started yelling, screaming, clapping.”
Joseph took a video of Kees’ grand entrance, which marked the first time since his diagnosis that he had been back on campus. The video has nearly 46,000 likes and nearly 300 comments on Instagram.
Kees was an inspiration to his teammates on that day, but he was also with them in spirit during offseason workouts.
“We took his workout card and put it up in the weight room,” Joseph said. “We taped it up on the wall, and I said, ‘This guy wants to be in here. Y’all are so fortunate to be able to do this. Don’t take it for granted.’ ”
Kees still has a long road ahead to get back to full strength. But with cancer in his rearview mirror, a new outlook on life and a passion for football, he is confident he can make the necessary strides and get back on the field in full pads.
“I’m thankful for coach Joseph and them because they were always checking on me,” Kees said. “So I’m just ready to play next year and give it my best.”