I’ve been a Washington fan all my life (There were like 2 seasons as a kid my mom brainwashed me into a ravens fan, but I was like 7 and I returned quickly). I understand the pain of it, I understand the anger within the fan base, and I am also a passionate fan.
There are things that have happened recently and as a fan base I feel like we are losing touch with the fact these guys are young men in their early 20’s. Sweat just lost his older brother a pain I couldn’t imagine. I’m close with my brothers, they are my best friends we watch every game together. My regular job is Hazardous I work on power lines, though I’m a foreman I’m responsible for the safety and well being of my crew. You see football is these guys job man I don’t know if I could do my job carrying the weight of that on my shoulders the ability to compartmentalize and push forward is no small task.
DeShazor Everett had a bad car crash that had him in the hospital and claimed the life of his 29 year old girlfriend. I don’t know the full details of the crash, but two guys who do are Jamin Davis and Benjamin St. Juste. Dealing with the stress and anxiety of their rookie season they witnessed a leader on their team and team captain go through one of the worst moments of his life. That’s a lot to process and people jumping to conclusions about alcohols involvement is helping no one(this may come as a surprise to some but you can crash your car without being drunk). Society has put these men on a pedestal , maybe, they don’t have the same struggles as the majority, but they are not without struggle and pain.
We seem to have forgotten the laundry list of issues happening the past couple years. The scrutiny over the name, the workplace and sexual assault allegations surrounding Snyder, the ungodly amount of injuries surrounding the field at Fed Ex, the raid on team facilities because of head trainer Vermillion, Coach Ron’s cancer scare, and of course the pandemic. In all that there is probably stuff I have a missed. I challenge fans to step back and give these guys the grace that you would want for yourself in times like this. It stacks up and becomes a lot to carry I’m sending my thoughts and hopes to this team. They are people just like you and me. I’ll see y’all at Fed Ex this weekend.
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