LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) --Â Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who started on the University of Kentucky's 2012 national championship team and was the No. 2 pick in that year's NBA Draft, is one of some 3.5 million Americans who struggles with stuttering.
In fact, it's affected his entire life.
"I've been teased and picked on as a kid and stuff like that," Kidd-Gilchrist said.
And that struggle led to the former Wildcat star traveling to Frankfort this week to meet a Senate Committee and advocate for a Senate Bill 111.Â
FILE - In this April 3, 2012, file photo, Kentucky forward Anthony Davis, left, and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, right, kiss the trophy after the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game against Kansas in New Orleans. Davis had 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and three steals in the Wildcats’ 67-59 victory over Kansas. His ability to help his team in so many different ways made him one of the best one-and-done players in college basketball history. (AP Photo/Bill Haber, File)
The two connected through a mutual friend, and Rep. Whitney Westerfield, R-Fruit Hill, a big Kentucky fan, was ecstatic to help.
"I didn't know what the issue was," Westerfield said Wednesday. "When I was told MKG wants to reach out, you take the call from Michael Kidd-Gilchrist."
The bill, co-sponsored by Westerfield, would require various health plans, including Medicaid, to comply with speech therapy coverage requirements. In essence, it would require health insurance companies to remove the cap on speech therapy visits for kids that stutter.
"That's an arbitrary limit," Westerfield said. "There are Kentuckians suffering and not getting the care that they need because that limit is there. Michael is the reason this bill has a chance to change that."
Kidd-Gilchrist said his goal is for the legislation to reach all 50 states. Beyond the committee room, he's devoted his life to advocating for those who stutter and created the Change and Impact Voices for Stuttering Foundation.
He said the project has given his life more meaning.
"It is very rewarding for myself to be heard in this magnitude and not always looked at as a basketball player," he said.
The bill passed unanimously and now goes to the full Senate floor.
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