Dwayne Haskins wasn't just a tragic case. He was a husband, quarterback and teammate.
The recent news involving Dwayne Haskins came and went quickly. His widow, Kalabrya Haskins, reached a settlement with three of the 14 people or entities she sued on behalf of the late Haskins' estate earlier this year. It was news that maybe some people saw on their phone or laptops. Or heard about from a friend. We saw it. We spent a few seconds thinking about it. We were saddened by what happened to Haskins. We moved on with our lives.
There are moments, though, where we shouldn't just go to the next thing. We should pause and look at the person. The life they lived. The lives they impacted. Listen to the people who loved them. Haskins deserves something more than a tangential mention. He wasn't a transaction. He wasn't just a headline. He was a person. He was a person who died tragically but he was also someone who lived a good life.
The message here is a simple one. It's not meant to be elaborate or profound. It's just a reminder that when you read about a tragedy like this one, take a breath, and pause for a moment. Haskins' legacy deserves a moment of your time. Not long at all.
Just a second.
Haskins was killed after being hit by a truck in South Florida in April of 2022. That horrible moment, and what would allegedly happen in the hours before it, including the disturbing accusation that four people deliberately drugged Haskins "to blackmail and rob him," as awful as it is, should not define him.
Since Haskins' death last year at the age of 24, people from across the NFL landscape have told me bits and pieces about Haskins as a person. Nothing official. Not extensive on-the-record discussions. Just anecdotes and stories about him. Things people thought I should know. How he was extremely well liked in both the Commanders and Steelers locker rooms. How helpful he was to rookies. How players older than Haskins went to him for advice. How some teammates didn't just see him as just a guy they played with but also as a friend.
This was reflected in something Mike Tomlin, the Steelers' coach, said in part soon after Haskins' death: "He quickly became part of our Steelers family upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was one of our hardest workers, both on the field and in our community. Dwayne was a great teammate, but even more so a tremendous friend to so many..."
He was a legend at Ohio State and in 2018 had one of the best seasons of any quarterback in school history. He threw for 50 touchdowns and over 4,800 yards. He was the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year and finished third in Heisman voting behind Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa.
"He was one of the sweetest kids," his college coach, Urban Meyer, said in 2022. "The players all loved him. My daughter (Nicki Meyer Dennis) just showed me a picture of him holding our grandson."
One of Haskins' favorite movies was the "Lion King." As a kid, his mom gave him the nickname Simba, a character from the movie, because when she would comb his hair it resembled a lion's mane. Later, the character would mean something different to him.
"The story behind him growing to king, going through adversity, and having to fall to get up and that's just something that resonates with my story," he once said. "Everyone sees the highs of everything but not what it takes to get there."
The time will come to analyze his career and do a deep dive on what kind of quarterback he was. Now is still not that time. Particularly after the latest news about what allegedly may have happened to him before he was struck.
Haskins' death was tragic but it doesn't define what was a remarkable life.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dwayne Haskins was a husband and NFL player. Remember his life.
