Brooklyn Agent Terence Degnan Honored for Fighting Parkinson’s with Pickleball

When Douglas Elliman agent Terence Degnan was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease (PD), his doctor told him that any exercise that involved anaerobic activity could help to alleviate his symptoms. Since taking up pickleball at the suggestion of  friend and fellow agent Denver Butson , Degnan has become an ardent evangelist for the sport. In March, he participated in an Elliman-sponsored Pickleball for Parkinson’s tournament benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Now, the Brooklyn-based agent ( and poet ) is being honored for his efforts to encourage others with PD to grab a paddle and get in the game. In a recent Facebook post , Degnan shared the news that the Association of Pickleball Players (APP) Tour—currently running the 2024 Zimmer Biomet APP New York City Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens, May 21-26—will present him with a Community Heroes Award for his work “spreading the good news about the profound effect pickleball has on folks suffering with PD.” “As Terence’s team leader and friend, I was thrown—as most of us were—by his diagnosis,” said Butson. “I started Googling right away and, as someone who had brought down my blood pressure and found a community playing morning pickleball, I was thrilled to read that pickleball has had such a tremendously positive impact on the symptoms of Parkinson’s. So, I urged Terence to join me in the courts. Now he is a regular fixture on many courts here and in Pennsylvania. And it is great to hear when he tells me how much pickleball has changed his daily struggle with this vicious disease.” Although Degnan demurred at the idea of being a “hero,” calling himself “just your psychoticfriendly pickleball aficionado who happens to have Parkinson’s,” he was game enough to participate in a Q&A with APP and share his pickleball journey ahead of the May 25 award presentation. What aspects of pickleball made you fall in love with the sport? Two Novembers ago, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. At the behest of my specialist, I took up a sport that included endorphins, dopamine, and anaerobic exercise. Pickleball was a silver bullet with regards to getting my symptoms in check. There’s a Venn diagram of all the folks who play pickleball and all the folks with Parkinson’s Disease, and I exist smack dab in the center of those two populations. My whole goal is to grow the middle and reach out to the 6.2 million of us dealing with PD and get them on the courts. What are some of your key accomplishments? This year, with the help of sponsors, Douglas Elliman, CityPickle, and Gearbox Sports, we were able to pull off a spectacular pickleball tournament to benefit The Michael J. Fox Foundation. We raised a bunch of money to support Parkinson’s research, and garnered a ton of awareness about the benefits of PB in the Parkinson’s community. It was so successful, that the folks behind the scenes are already gearing up to bring another tournament to a larger venue and audience, When I think about the term “community hero,” it’s the folks behind the scenes that come to mind. It’s all of the folks who support people like me, when they don’t have to. What challenges have you overcome? I have pulled off the trifecta of hitting an Erne, an ATP, and getting Nasty Nelson(ed) all in the same game. I feel —with that accolade behind me— I can die a happy man. What do you expect for the future of pickleball? At the rate we’re going, we’re bound to have as many courts in each city as fire hydrants, paddles made out of kryptonite, and AI so advanced we’ll play our own selves. In all seriousness, I think that the social aspect of this sport has already bridged many of the divides that have dogged our society as of late. If you can last 11 points against someone who has a different worldview than you, you can get down to the nitty gritty of solving some of our common obstacles. In the meantime, if you meet someone who has Parkinson’s Disease, you can invite them out for a round of pickleball. You will be changing their life.