Meet Three Athletes in the NFL Draft Who Are Playing Through Tragedy: 'I'm Doing It For My Son'
The 2017 NFL draft is about to kick off and dozens of hopefuls are vying for a spot on one of the league’s 32 teams. Among the most recognizable prospects are potential No. 1 overall pick Myles Garrett, known for his affinity for poetry and dinosaurs, and Beyoncé-obsessed Solomon Thomas.
It’s an impressive class, with Bleacher Report calling the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine “the most compelling combine in years.” But for many of these driven young players, the road to turn pro hasn’t been easy.
Here are three NFL prospects facing incredible tragedy as they prepare for the draft, which will unfold from Thursday through Saturday in Philadelphia.
D’Onta Foreman
Foreman, 21, the University of Texas running back known for his incredible junior year season, revealed on Monday that he played through the pain and heartbreak of losing his infant son that very same year.
Doctors insisted that D’Onta Foreman Jr., born prematurely, would pull through. But he later developed an infection and died less than two months after birth. “I really didn’t know how to feel. I was like numb. I felt like something was taken away from me before I had a chance to experience it,” Foreman told NFL Network. But he says he used his son’s death as inspiration to push himself - the day that D’Onta Jr. died, he rushed for a career-best 341 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Texas Tech.
“It was just something about that game, it was like, I’m doing it for my son. I’m leaving it all out here,'” Foreman said. The athlete was college football’s leading rusher in 2016 and is currently the No. 7-ranked running back, according to ESPN. His girlfriend is due again on September 16 - the one-year anniversary of D’Onta Jr.’s birth.
Travis Rudolph
The father of prospect Travis Rudolph - the Florida State wide receiver who became Internet famous when he ate lunch with a boy with autism sitting alone - was killed in an accidental shooting Friday morning. Darryl Rudolph was shot at Sugar D’s Adult Cabaret, where the 55-year-old was making repairs in a storage room, reports NFL.com. He was shot in the back/neck area unintentionally when a coworker moved a firearm from a shelf. His son caught 56 passes for 840 yards and seven touchdowns last year for the Seminoles, according to the NFL. He is among Florida State’s top prospects.
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The mother of Bo Paske, the middle schooler Rudolph ate lunch with, posted a social media tribute. “Our hearts are broken,” Leah Paske wrote on the Facebook page of Rudolph’s mother, Linda. “We love you beyond measure.”
Andrew King
The son of a 9/11 NYPD first responder, linebacker Andrew King met his best friend Brandon Jackson at West Point where they both played football. A sophomore cornerback, Jackson was killed in a car crash last September.
“West Point prepares you for many things, but not for something like that,” King wrote about his friend in an emotional tribute for The Players’ Tribune. When Jackson died, he stepped up to be there for his Army teammates. He became a captain on the football team and a battalion commander at Army, responsible for 400 cadets, according to the New York Post. Inspired by his late friend, King is now pursuing an NFL career.
“Everything you would ask for in a friend and brother, he was,” he told the Post. “I definitely miss him every day.”
