Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins dies at age 24
by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
Matthew: 24:36—“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”
Last Saturday, April 9, I was a little under the weather. I can’t tell you whether it was my body or my mind that decided that I was going to sleep in. My phone vibrated and I looked at the caller ID and it was my buddy, girlfriend and confidant, Eileen. She went straight to the point. “You sound like you are just gettin’ up,” she said. “I won’t hold you long. I figured since you hadn’t called me that you might not have been up. Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was killed early this morning. The news reports are saying that it happened a little around 6:30 this morning. He was attempting to walk across the highway, according to the police report. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
To say that I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of these 69 years for me. The only thing that surprised me more is when I found out that you could eat peanut butter without jelly. If I don’t try to smile about it, I may choke on it.
Now that Dwayne Haskins has passed on, why are there a few spiritually and empathy deprived folks drudging up an incident that Haskins was involved in when he was fined $40,000 by the NFL franchise formerly known as the Washington Football Team? Haskins was also stripped of his captaincy for not wearing a mask after a Washington loss to the Seattle Seahawks because he was observed partying without a COVID-19 mask.
I find that biased penalty remarkable especially after National Public Radio reported on July 1, 2021, that: “the (Washington Football) team was fined $10 million after a investigation found the team’s workplace culture to be “highly unprofessional,” especially toward female employees.”
And to throw salt in the wound, this was in a city that housed a race-baiting President of the United States who said this about the COVID-19 virus according to CNN in October 2020: “It’s [the virus] going to disappear. It is disappearing.”
I find it beyond my comprehension that a man who perceived the virus as some sort of flu-like illness and was incompetent enough to suggest that it could be cured by ingesting household bleach, who was possibly far more responsible for 200,000 American deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, was not stripped of his presidency. Yet they stole $40,000 from one of our babies (yes, Dwayne Haskins at the age of 24 was still a baby) because he went and had a good time without a mask. Donald Trump encouraged millions of American citizens (including himself) to ignore many mask mandates.
Now that he has died, forget about Dwayne Haskins Jr., the football player, because the village of mankind has reclaimed him. Think of his father, Dwayne Haskins Sr., his mother Tamara and younger sister Tamia. Grieve with Kalabrya Gondrezick-Haskins, 25, his wife. They were married since March 19, 2021. But guess what? The “reputation assassins” still have their venomous pens poised to strike trying to drudge up a dated domestic violence report. A few quarterbacks (including a future NFL Hall-of-Famer or two) have been accused of and even charged with domestic violence violations and even violence against women. There are voices that won’t even allow Mrs. Kalabrya Gondrezick-Haskins the time to breathe, let alone grieve. His wife is also one of our babies. We must now support him in death and her as she continues on with her life, just as much as those that, for no valid reason, opposed him in life.
Many of the Pittsburgh Steelers fans gave former Steelers/Jaguars quarterback Joshua Dobbs grief when he was retained by the Steelers on two separate occasions. Many of them reacted only as true phonies would when Dobbs signed a deal with the Cleveland Browns to compete for the backup quarterback spot behind DeShaun Watson, the former Houston Texans star QB. There were a few fans that acted as if they were sorry to see Dobbs depart the Steel City to compete for a backup quarterback spot for the “city by the lake.” Oh yeah? You mean like, sorry that Dobbs didn’t go sooner?
The tragic demise of Dwayne Haskins is light years away from the football field. This horrible story is about life and death which is certainly real and should not be minimized or toyed with by anyone, anytime or anywhere, period; not for ratings, not for advertising dollars or to be endeared by any demographic of people. Let’s be real. A few Pittsburgh Steelers fans never have and most likely will never be comfortable with an African American starting quarterback: not in 1962 or 2022. Dwayne Haskins began being vilified by many in Pittsburgh before the ink had dried on his contract with the Steelers. There were folks that stirred and created dissent when Dwayne Haskins initially stepped into the Steelers’ South Side facility. Many of those same folks will continue to find fault with him, even in death. The Holy Scriptures warn us that: “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Why? Well, because it is said in the Swahili language that: chochote utakachomimina kwenye kikombe lazima unywe pia: “Whatever you pour into the cup (for others), you must also drink,” because before you know it, the hour may be upon you.
About Post Author
