Vahe Gregorian: Just in time, KC Special Olympics athlete Arthur Murphy to be in spotlight for Chiefs

Apr. 23--Chances are you don't know Arthur Murphy's name.

But up the steps at Barney Allis Plaza, you can find his star bestrided by that of Jim Ryun among the likes of George Brett, Len Dawson and Tom Watson on the Kansas City Sports Walk of Stars.

He's been honored by the Kansas City Sports Commission and has hobnobbed with with Chiefs coach Andy Reid.

And in decades of competition, he has been such an honorable, passionate and emblematic champion as to become a Hall of Famer and global ambassador and be written about by ESPN.com.

But for all that, the Special Olympics Missouri athlete who lives in Independence never has occupied the spotlight as he is expected to on Saturday, when he is tentatively scheduled to precede the Chiefs' fourth-round pick with a taped greeting along the lines of this:

"Hi, NFL fans, and a special hello to all of the Kansas City Chiefs fans and Super Bowl 54 champions! Thank you for having me! I hope everyone is enjoying the draft, and I can't wait to welcome the newest member of the Chiefs Kingdom! It's going to be a great year!"

While the timing is subject to revision depending on whether the Chiefs trade draft picks, this much is known: Murphy was selected to present a "community pick" through the NFL Foundation's partnership with Special Olympics International because of his long-time involvement with Special Olympics Missouri, for being a well-rounded representative and spokesperson for his fellow Special Olympics athletes and the movement around the world and his passion for the Chiefs ... whose games he's been known to regularly take notes on.

"I can't wait," he said Thursday.

The sentiment is reciprocated by Reid, who enjoyed spending time with Murphy during the filming of a PSA for Special Olympics Missouri last year in the wake of a tornado that ravaged SOMO's campus in Jefferson City.

"I am excited to see my friend Arthur help announce one of our picks this weekend," Reid said in a news release. "I've always been a big fan of the Special Olympics and the work they do in our communities. We are lucky to have Arthur represent Chiefs Kingdom."

As it happens, this is a particularly good time for this to happen for Murphy and perhaps for people to learn more about him.

"I bet it's a life-changing deal for him to be able to do this," said Brock Burford, who works with Murphy as part of the direct care staff at his independent support living apartment at Life At Its Best Inc.

Since he suffered a broken ankle playing basketball last year, Murphy has been told he has to limit his activities on the Special Olympics circuit to bowling, bocce ball and golf from what long had included softball, track and field, flag football, tennis and volleyball.

Amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, though, about all he has been able to do is walk ... the first time in decades he hasn't been able to take part in the competitions that have sustained him and that he will tell you changed his life.

(That included being looked after by Bea Webb, who met him through her job with the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department and became his guardian after his adoptive parents died. In a phone interview, she downplayed her role and emphasized how much he does for himself despite an intellectual disability. But in a separate call, Murphy laughed and said, "She acts like she's my mom.")

This also comes at a time when Murphy was abruptly told by the fast-food restaurant where he had worked for decades that he no longer had a job.

"I don't know if they fired me or not," he said.

While that situation remains murky, this doesn't:

For a guy whose smile Webb correctly says "you'll be able to hear" on the phone, this is a great time to have sports give back to him for all he's given to sports.

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