Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs, team cheerleader advocates for hair-loss condition

September is Alopecia Awareness month and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs, who shared a heartwarming video last week about how he and a Cardinals cheerleader both have been affected by hair loss, talked about the condition while meeting with reporters on Wednesday.

Alopecia areata is a condition where the immune system attacks hair follicles, leading to hair loss. It can affect anyone regardless of race, ethnicity or age. Most people with the disease are healthy and have no other symptoms, just like Dobbs and Ellie, whose video played on the State Farm Stadium jumbotron Sunday before the Cardinals’ 28-16 win over the Cowboys.

Dobbs, 28, said he began losing his hair in the third grade. It all fell out and would sporadically start to grow back, but not all the way.

“I’ve always been an advocate for it just because I’ve seen not only the personal effects it’s had on my life, but also the effects it’s had on other people’s lives that I’ve come in contact with,” he said after practice at the team’s Tempe training facility. “Alopecia is a very visual autoimmune issue that people have, that people can see. Some people, it affects them when they’re 5, 6, 7 years old. Some people, it affects them when they’re 40, 50 years old.

“I’m just a big advocate of being true to you, being who you are, being confident in your own skin and understanding that there are things in life that are going to affect you that you can’t control, and even though alopecia is something a little more visual that what other people may go through on a daily basis, it doesn’t affect who you are, it doesn’t affect the success that you can have; it’s just a part of your story.”

Ellie was diagnosed with alopecia in January and despite losing 85 percent of her hair by May, she was determined to still audition for a spot on the Cardinals’ cheerleading squad. She shaved her head and made the team.

“I know how difficult it is to watch something that’s such a big part of your identity kind of slip through your fingers, literally,” Ellie said in the video with Dobbs. “Just know that you are beautiful, your alopecia makes you beautiful, and the hair on your head does not define the type of person you are.”

Dobbs’ condition turned into Alopecia totalis, which resulted in hair loss on his head and face.

“It’s just really cool to talk to him and learn about his experience and see that he hasn’t let his condition stop him from chasing his dreams,” Ellie said. “And it just reaffirms me in that I shouldn’t let it stop me all well.”

In the video, Dobbs explains, “Everyone is going through something, so you never can judge a book by its cover. You always have to treat people how you want to be treated.”

Losing one’s hair, he reaffirmed, doesn’t define who a person is.

“Meeting other people with alopecia such as Ellie, who are in the spotlight and seeing how they continue to serve as a light, I know she was just diagnosed with alopecia, so her journey is a little different than mine,” he said. “We’re in the same organization and to be able to relate stories and be able to support each other through the adversity we might face just because we might look a little bit different is cool.”

The shoe plan: Cardinals' defense keeps it together despite injuries

Meanwhile, any concerns that Dobbs couldn’t buy his own No. 9 jersey in the Cardinals’ team shop were put to rest in recent days as a new shipment did indeed arrive.

Coach Jonathan Gannon said he wasn’t aware of that story that made the rounds on social media.

“Does he have his jersey in his locker on game day? That’s all I’m concerned about,” Gannon said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals Josh Dobbs, team cheerleader advocates for hair-loss condition