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Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night at Thomas & Mack Center

Dec 8, 2018

Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night at Thomas & Mack Center

Event info: Takes place during the night’s competition at Thomas & Mack Center.
Fans and athletes urged to wear pink
To donate: ToughEnoughtoWearPink.com

Each Monday of the Wrangler NFR, the baddest rodeo cowboys and cowgirls in the world wear pink in honor of the fight against cancer. is Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night at the Thomas & Mack Center. All contestants and fans are encouraged to wear pink to show solidarity in the fight against breast cancer. The evening is part of a national series of events throughout the rodeo world.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink provides a nationally-recognized campaign and framework for rodeos and western events to help them promote breast cancer awareness and fundraising to benefit their local communities.

Tough Enough to Wear Pink was created by entrepreneur and breast cancer survivor Terry Wheatley in 2004 with Karl Stressman, former director of special events for Wrangler and former commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PCRA) to bring the sport of professional rodeo and the western community together to rally against breast cancer.  Wrangler is the title sponsor of Tough Enough To Wear Pink.

Since its inception in 2004, TETWP has empowered rodeos and western events in the U.S. and Canada to focus attention on the need for a cure.  To date, the campaign has raised over $26 million dollars for breast cancer charities, much of which stays right in the community.  The grassroots movement has inspired other sports communities to mount their own TETWP campaigns, spreading a message of hope and support that reaches beyond the rodeo arena to competitors, families and fans across America.

In 2004, Terry was looking forward to attending the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas as she had for many years.  Her son Wade Wheatley was a consistent WNFR finalist in team roping (header) and her husband Jim had been a six-time WNFR team roping qualifier himself.  Terry was a senior executive at a major wine company sponsoring the WNFR telecast.

But Terry had recently undergone breast cancer surgery and, although things looked positive, it was on her mind.  She had lost her grandmother to breast cancer, her mother had a double mastectomy before the age of 40 and her daughter Katie had undergone two surgical biopsies before the age of 20.

“It seemed as if everyone I knew was affected” recalls Terry.  “I felt a very strong need to somehow take action.”