Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hid is stuttering at Kentucky; now he's speaking to Congress

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is not your normal basketball star. NJ.com recently published a fascinating exposé on the former Kentucky legend, focusing on his lifelong struggle with stuttering and his active campaigning for legislation to assist children also afflicted with speech impediments. When he was at the University of Kentucky, a place not exactly known for allowing its star players an abundance of privacy, he wanted to keep his struggle a secret. Now he’s speaking on Capitol Hill.

In 2021, MKG started a nonprofit organization called Change and Impact, which has helped pass laws in four states (Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, and Nevada) to extend health coverage to include speech therapy costs, citing the lack of insurance coverage as one of the major barriers to children getting the early intervention they need. But with the same relentless energy that spawned the 2012 breakfast club at Kentucky, where he encouraged teammates to work out with him at 6:00 a.m., now Kidd-Gichrist is going national.

He has pushed for a federal bill that would push for early detection of speech impediments, getting kids between the ages of 2 and 6 screened, and then provide health coverage for any subsequent speech therapy needs. If MKG can get a bipartisan bill passed in the current political environment, it could very well be more impressive than winning a national championship.

Kidd-Gilchrist was content to walk away from basketball early

The piece also called out Kidd-Gilchrist’s comfort level of walking away from the game of basketball at 26 years old and how his passion to improve the lives of children was a reason why. His wife said, “He didn’t go through the funk that some retired players go through. There’s so much life to live, and there’s so much more to offer. [Michael’s] story is a shining example of being okay with exploring the next chapter.”

MKG, too, claimed he could have hung around in the league for a couple of more years, but chose to exit on his own terms. He said, “A lot of people thought, ‘Why? What are you doing? This is the NBA. You were still productive. (But) I knew there was a lot more out there for me. I was ready to go into the next phase of my life.”

Kidd-Gilchrist is truly one of the more inspiring players in Kentucky history. Even though he had a horrible shooting technique, his perseverance led him to be an NCAA national champion, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, and an eight-year NBA veteran. That same determination is now turning a stuttering issue into what might become national law.

To quote MKG in his 2024 speech before the Kentucky Banking and Insurance committee: “Why not be an advocate?” Kentucky has had a lot of great players come through its campus, but Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is one of one.