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I only knew Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins as a football player. He was not a Steeler for a long time, but the loss for fans of the NFL feels personal. Steeler Nation is a family, and we have lost members of the family over the years. Mike Webster died under tragic circumstances at age 50. Justin Strzelczyk’s death at 36 opened our eyes about CTE and L.C. Greenwood passed from kidney failure in 2013 at the age of 67. When you lose a family member it is always too soon but losing a young man at 24 feels different. It is tragic, and you realize life is short. Everyone grieves differently and some of his teammates have expressed their feelings on social media and in written statements. Fans of all kinds of sports teams have expressed sympathy for the Haskins family and I hope they feel the outpouring of love for their son and husband.
Football binds America. It used to be baseball, but in 2022 it is football. Too often, we are separated by our differences, but speaking as a long-time member of the Steelers fan base, if I have Steelers gear on in public it doesn’t take long before someone stops me and we’re talking Steelers football.
Steelers quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Dwayne Haskins talk during a commercial timeout.
I live in Jacksonville, Florida and today I took my daughter on what I hoped would be a diversion trip from the sad news this morning about a 24-year-old young man who was taken away from his wife Kalaybrya Gondrezick-Haskins far too soon.
My daughter and I went to a local neighborhood card/comic book/gaming store combination that had just opened close to our home. I was wearing a Steelers cap, and while she was searching for a new comic book to read a young man in a Dallas Cowboy jersey approached and said how sorry he was for the loss of Haskins. We talked briefly about how sad it was that a young man was lost and that we were deprived of seeing his full story unfold. He was on the way out, and we had just arrived, we wished each other well and he moved on with his day. The owner of the store, had a Jacksonville Jaguars t-shirt on and when we checked out, he expressed his sadness about the Haskins accident. I thanked him for the sentiment and my daughter asked me who everyone was talking about.
I explained to my 16-year-old daughter that a 24-year-old Haskins was killed in an apparent accident in Tampa on a highway. My daughter doesn’t like to watch football, and her limited knowledge of the NFL is that we root for the Steelers in our house and Daddy yells at the TV a lot during the football season. She has experienced herself that if you wear a Steelers Jersey in public you are going to get a lot of thumbs up and a lot of extra ‘hellos’ even in Jacksonville.
Grief can turn to anger very easily, and we all know that a couple of times today less than classy reporting, and commentary prompted backlash. Those people were wrong, and obligatory apologies followed. The NFL community is grieving, and when opportunity for venting anger arises at a time like this, many will take it. They are not wrong for doing so, and if you are foolish enough to speak ill of the departed less than 3 hours after his death, you deserve the wrath you incur. I had a good friend who told me once, after a co-worker died suddenly, that in the immediate aftermath, the family and friends of the departed are not really interested in your opinions of their work or character. If you can’t express a personal sentiment that will comfort them, then “shut the hell up” and simply pass on your condolences.
Rage at poorly timed comments is easy to express, condolences are easy to pass on. What is hard, is remembering that Steeler Nation is millions strong, and that through tragedy the NFL community can help comfort each other. Rest in Peace Dwayne Haskins and may your wife and family find strength in your memory.
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
Football binds America. It used to be baseball, but in 2022 it is football. Too often, we are separated by our differences, but speaking as a long-time member of the Steelers fan base, if I have Steelers gear on in public it doesn’t take long before someone stops me and we’re talking Steelers football.
Steelers quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Dwayne Haskins talk during a commercial timeout.
I live in Jacksonville, Florida and today I took my daughter on what I hoped would be a diversion trip from the sad news this morning about a 24-year-old young man who was taken away from his wife Kalaybrya Gondrezick-Haskins far too soon.
My daughter and I went to a local neighborhood card/comic book/gaming store combination that had just opened close to our home. I was wearing a Steelers cap, and while she was searching for a new comic book to read a young man in a Dallas Cowboy jersey approached and said how sorry he was for the loss of Haskins. We talked briefly about how sad it was that a young man was lost and that we were deprived of seeing his full story unfold. He was on the way out, and we had just arrived, we wished each other well and he moved on with his day. The owner of the store, had a Jacksonville Jaguars t-shirt on and when we checked out, he expressed his sadness about the Haskins accident. I thanked him for the sentiment and my daughter asked me who everyone was talking about.
I explained to my 16-year-old daughter that a 24-year-old Haskins was killed in an apparent accident in Tampa on a highway. My daughter doesn’t like to watch football, and her limited knowledge of the NFL is that we root for the Steelers in our house and Daddy yells at the TV a lot during the football season. She has experienced herself that if you wear a Steelers Jersey in public you are going to get a lot of thumbs up and a lot of extra ‘hellos’ even in Jacksonville.
Grief can turn to anger very easily, and we all know that a couple of times today less than classy reporting, and commentary prompted backlash. Those people were wrong, and obligatory apologies followed. The NFL community is grieving, and when opportunity for venting anger arises at a time like this, many will take it. They are not wrong for doing so, and if you are foolish enough to speak ill of the departed less than 3 hours after his death, you deserve the wrath you incur. I had a good friend who told me once, after a co-worker died suddenly, that in the immediate aftermath, the family and friends of the departed are not really interested in your opinions of their work or character. If you can’t express a personal sentiment that will comfort them, then “shut the hell up” and simply pass on your condolences.
Rage at poorly timed comments is easy to express, condolences are easy to pass on. What is hard, is remembering that Steeler Nation is millions strong, and that through tragedy the NFL community can help comfort each other. Rest in Peace Dwayne Haskins and may your wife and family find strength in your memory.
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
