Saturday morning?
I mean, you just just kind of shock and disbelief that
something like that can happen to a player that young
a person that young forgetting a player. And
and then quite honestly Mike it makes me think back. I mean,
you know, the team I was on in Philadelphia. This was before
free agency. So we are around together for a while and we
were we weren't just teammates who are really good friends
with one of my best friend's was Jerome Brown
and it was in June of an offseason.
We're Jerome, got a car accident is twelve year. Old
nephew is in the car and they both died. He's 27 years old
and it's a guy. And I know that not only played on the D line
with me and Jerome and Mike pits Clyde Simmons, and Reggie
White.
So, like I said, we were friends and and I'll never
forget getting that call and not believing it. I think
the first thing is, disbelief know, this didn't happen,
you know, no way. This happened. Come on.
And then as it starts to sink, Kin, you, do you go through all
the stages of shock? Dis police sadness, anger, everything.
I mean, and we had to go on and play a season, a couple of
months later.
You know, we're playing a season for our friend, you
know, a teammate. But again, our friend. So
for those that were not only not only his teammates but
acquaintances but friends that he had, whether it's college or
the NFL. I mean it's a devastating thing, because
obviously, it's not supposed to happen
to somebody that young in.
That way, but it does.
And as an athlete,
no matter if you're one of the great players or not, one of
the great players, it doesn't matter. If you're playing, you
have this feeling of invincibility and your kind of
look at that way of almost not human. You're like this,
this this athlete, you know, their bodies are. There are
their lives, you know, and no way this, they're not gone.
They're not dead, you know, but but the harsh reality is they
are that that
you know, life throws some, some horrible crap. About us.
And it's so
I feel horrible for obviously for him and especially
the family who goes on to try and, you know, to try and remember
him and they will remember him, obviously,
but it did make me think about Jerome, just a couple years
older than what Dwayne Haskins. It was
a 25 or drone being 27 and just how it's cut short, you just
there's a lot of funk for a while. Mike. There's just a lot
of
Kind of again disbelief, that something like this. You just
you're like,
how did this? This can't be true? This can't have happened.
And literally, there are a lot of us that didn't even believe
it about Jerome until we are actually
at his funeral looking at the casket going. Oh my God, you
know, that this is real
and it's a, it's a, it's a horrible, horrible reality
to a game. You know that we all play that this, this is life.
And what it does is it pops through the bubble that we
reside in, as we go about our lives, the things we do day in
and day out, the things that make the week's go by Monday
through Friday. And then the weekend and then we started all
over again.
We have routines.
We have our radius of activities. The things we do
that get us through our time
through the weeks, months, and years and something like this
comes in throws. Everything off killed her and forces you to
deal with issues that ideally you. Would only deal with with
people who are extremely ederle elderly who have lived their
lives,
not somebody who has even yet to turn 25. May third is when
he would have turned 25. And it was a weird weekend for me,
Mike, because Saturday, was
a rare occasion where I had access to my son. Who's older
than Dwayne, Haskins
all day long. We drove to Ohio to see our new family member,
and it was a very family heavy day. And it was just
a reminder, to me constantly of what Duane has can family. Be
experiencing. I can't imagine the hurt the grief, the
despair, that his parents will be feeling for the rest of
their lives. I don't know how that ever goes away. Knowing
that he's younger than my own son knowing and trying to
understand what they've got to be dealing with. I can't
understand
where they would even begin to find Solace or even begin. The
process of feeling better about it. Where's the Silver Lining?
There is no silver lining. Lining. It's a storm cloud that
will hover hover over you,
the rest of your life. And that goes along
with his wife, and his friends. And his team mates.
Chase Claypool was very emotional. He had, I thought
the most poignant tweet of the weekend, very simple,
very powerful about Dwayne Haskins and what he meant to
him and there it is. There. I spent your final moments with
you and I can't help but think about how selfless you were in
those moments. All you cared about was making sure that
everyone around you
was okay, and I can't thank you enough for that you are. What
I strive to be
and
a lot of healing that needs to be done and,
you know, time does
make it better,
but it, it never it just fundamentally changes you.
When it's someone that close to you.
Your life is never quite the same. Again. I have experienced
with my parents
when they passed in the 90s.
It's a fundamental change to your existence. You don't
realize it until you go through it and I can only imagine and
I never want to experience what it's like to have to continue
without one of your children.
So I think that that's what I
can't imagine this and I sit there and talk from it.
Whether it's Dwayne or whether it was like with Jerome,
how people within that football World
talk at a, we have each other. We had teammates, we had
friends with in the league to share with each other and I'm
sure.
Jane does as well with with the friends, he has in the league
weather, again, college or in the NFL. They can commiserate
with one another. But man, I just,
I could not fathom losing a child. So,
for his, his parents are or,
you know, even, even ants even uncle's all, you're never
supposed to see that happen, you know. Kids needs a cure,
your son daughter. Niece's death. You go before you.
It's just that
That is just so hard to wrap your head around and as I don't
know how that feels
and that's why I feel the most for
is for the the parents.
Just how you. And I'm sure they'll go on. You know again
how everybody does it is up to them,
you know, and how long it takes them if you never get over.
I don't know how you could. I can't even think of the words.
To say in my thoughts to them in. Losing a child, that, that
that's a part. And just as you stated knighted, being being
fathers, being parents.
It's numbing to me. Absolutely nothing to me.
I remember vividly the year that Dwayne up, that that
Jerome Brown passed, excuse me, that tribute that the Eagles
came up with for That season, every once in a while, see
video or a picture of the
wing with the thin black stripe
on each side. So powerful.
And I think you guys did that all season long.
We did you that all year. Yeah. I mean,
a powerful tribute and
it was a reminder
to anyone who was paying attention, the NFL all year long
that The Drone Brown was gone and that he meant everything to
his teammates and coaches and everyone connected to
the organization. Here's coach Ryan Day from today on what he
thinks.
Dwayne Haskins Legacy
should be
He was 11 years old walking through this facility and said
that this is what I'm going to do
and then did it. I think that's the Legacy. These going to
leave behind so many other younger people
across the country. Not just in Buckeye nation is that you can
set a dream and goal and go achieved and he did it and then
really, you know, broke a lot of records that year that that
first year in 2018 and
That video of 11 year-old Dwayne Haskins in May of 2008.
With the
infectious smile. This is awesome. I'm going to go to
college here
and I assumed it was his dad running the video. I don't know
who it doesn't identify himself, but it was a male who
had a connection to Dwayne, Haskins could have been
a uncle, a friend whoever. But you could hear the happiness in
that man's voice,
that Dwayne was so
Hired by what he was experiencing and it's great
that he was able
to do what he wanted to do and
and hope to do at that age, but it makes it even more
heartbreaking. I watched that over and over and over and over
again. It's a short clip. You can find it on social media
folks if you haven't seen it and
it's haunting
its heart shattering.
And you know, it wasn't that long ago. There he is.
Do we have audio? He says, this is awesome. Mm.
I'm going to go to college here
and it was 2008. You know,
Chris Simms. And I were talking about this earlier day. Mike,
14 years isn't all that long ago. Once you're an adult, in
your life. Settles into a routine.
It's like that.
Yeah, but to thank you know, he's 11 year old boy and so
full of aspiration and an unlimited future and and to
have it cut short,
just a couple of weeks short of turning 25. It's just it's
hard. It's hard
to process and it makes should just take a step back and
question the fairness of a lot of things. Gone, I know life's
not fair. I don't want to get into trite cliché, but it
really makes you take a step back and just get pissed off
that certain things happen to certain people who don't get
a fair shake at Living a full life. That's a great way to put
it.
And that's what you'll go. You go through the anger.
We certainly did,
which your own and you talk about, you know, in the blink
of an eye, is a great Kenny Chesney song called Don't
Blink, which is just, you know, I would as you were talking
about, we're showing that video. I was thinking about
that song and it just
it does go by But but one of the things, obviously, this is
a horrible time for again, especially the family. But
think, think about not nowadays, everything gets
documented and that's documented, right? That video
will live a. That video can be such a great
inspiration to show, two young kids.
Look at this kid at 11 years old walked into this locker
room and said, I'm gonna be here, and he was, I mean, so,
so while it's
horrible horrible,
and we'll stick with with
Especially family members forever,
you know, at some point, there will be that. That
how can be used for good.
Well, show this to two young kids.
This was this kid's dream and he worked his ass off to get
there and did it and he did it, and you can too. So while it's
going to be horrible for I, like I said, a long, long time,
we're in an era where everything is documented like
that Incredible video, that can be used to really kind of make
some young kids, get pretty.
Wide-eyed and maybe,
you know, spur them on to do great things.