De'Antre TurmanIt is amazing that taxpayers still allocate funds to support high school tackle football programs.

Last Friday night, in an unfortunate tragedy, Creekside high school junior De’Antre Turman was killed on the football field after a routine tackle snapped his neck.

Tre Tre, 16, as he was affectionately called by his family and friends, lived for “football, family, friends, and God,” said friend Jamari Benning, 18.

According to eye witness reports, the star cornerback went in for a tackle on a wide receiver from Benjamin Banneker high school when, as one witness recounted, De’Antre’s “head went up and the rest of his body went limp.”

On Sunday night, a groundswell of love and contriteness over this calamity filled Ben Hill stadium in College Park, as hundreds of students, coaches, and teachers held each other up while remembering their friend, student, and fellow human being:

“He always had a goal to always be great. He was never stingy, selfish; he was just a good person and a role model. He never had any doubt in God. He always kept his faith.” said his teammate Benning.

According to his legal guardian, Tarsha Keller, De’Antre used football as an outlet to bond with his friends and stay away from his former, violent neighborhood, which his father had the foresight to get De’Antre out of after the young man’s cousin was killed close by.

“It’s a wonderful blessing to know that he has touched so many lives,” she said. “He was a blessing to all of us.”

Another teen, Demarcus Morgan, 16, reflected on the depravity of the U.S. racial and economic structures in place that make violent sports such football and boxing a viable and valorized option for urban youth to leave and receive a college education:

“He put it in his head to try to get out of the hood and persevered through the struggle,” Morgan said. “For him to die for something he loved, I couldn’t even be mad because he was doing something he loved.”

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One Comment

  1. High school football should be banned from schools nationwide because injuries and deaths are too high for these children. They are not young adults. They are childern and children should do children things. 18 years of age would be better at a college level. Eliminate football and bring back baseball to the high schools.

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