Loss and Mourning in Sport

Tylee Craft.?

A wide receiver on the football team at the 美国北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校 from Sumter, South Carolina.?

Tylee Craft was one of the most sought after wide receivers in the state of South Carolina and the country during his high school career at Sumter High School. He was a four-star prospect and was the nation’s 60th-ranked wide receiver by ESPN . While he played football, he also played basketball and ran track, while also accomplishing honor roll status all four years at Sumter. Tylee appeared in multiple games during his freshman and sophomore seasons at UNC and was named the Disney Spirit Award winner and invited onto the Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team.

Johnny Gaudreau.?

A left winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League (NHL) from Salem County, New Jersey.?

Johnny Gaudreau, or “Johnny Hockey,” played in the NHL for eleven seasons, beginning his career with the Calgary Flames in 2014 after playing Division I collegiate hockey at Boston College , and then heading down to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022. Johnny was a national champion at Boston College where he was also awarded the Hobey Baker Award, which is given to the best player in the NCAA. He scored 243 goals In 763 regular season NHL games, played in four NHL All-Star games, made the NHL All-Rookie Team in his debut season, and was honored with the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is given to the player who “exhibits sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct”... the list continues on.

What do Tylee and Johnny have in common?

Their losses shook the sports world.?

Tylee began his battle against a rare lung cancer in 2022, forcing him to miss out on his junior and senior football seasons. In July, following his graduation from UNC in May, he announced that he would medically retire to focus on his health and treatment plan but wanted to stay involved with the UNC Football program. He became a student coach and encouraged his best friends from the sidelines. Sadly, on October 12th, Tylee began his journey in Heaven, free from the pain and sorrow that cancer brought with it. Tylee was 23.

Johnny was in Oldmans Township, NJ, along with his entire family, for his sister’s wedding. On August 29, he and his brother Matthew Gaudreau were biking down the shoulder of a road when they were struck and killed by an impatient driver seeking to go around the cars in front of him, which had slowed down to be cautious of Johnny and Matthew. At the scene, the driver admitted to having five or six beers before getting behind the wheel, and the driver’s wife said he had been angry after a phone call earlier that day. Johnny was 31 and left behind his wife and two children, with one on the way.

Their shocking deaths left the sports world deep in mourning. With the beginning of the NHL regular season this past week, organizations across the continent have expressed their sorrow and support for Johnny and Matthew’s families and the Blue Jackets. No matter the rivalry between teams and their histories, all are coming together to remember Johnny and honor his legacy. After the death of the two brothers, fans in Calgary and Columbus constructed memorials outside of the stadiums where Johnny played the game he loved most. They were places where supporters came to heal together. On the Blue Jackets’ opening night against the Florida Panthers, the Panthers players all came out to warm-ups in jerseys with Gaudreau’s name and number 13 on the back. At the start of the game, the Blue Jackets left Johnny’s position at left-wing open, where they passed the puck and the stadium had a thirteen second moment of applause.

After Tylee’s death, collegiate football teams from all over flooded social media with their support for UNC Football and for Tylee’s family and friends. Tylee passed away the morning of UNC Football’s cancer awareness game against Georgia Tech, which sought to honor their beloved teammate and raise money for cancer treatment and research. The team also fundraised to help Tylee’s family with his medical bills, and UNC honored his family following the end of the first quarter. You do not have to watch football to realize the legacy that Tylee left behind and the impact that he made throughout the community. Head Coach Mack Brown expressed how amazing of a person and friend Tylee was to everyone that knew him, and he will be deeply missed. UNC Football does not have a game this week, but I am expecting to see other teams honor Tylee in theirs as well as UNC when they get back the next week against the University of Virginia.?

Even the strongest people suffer trials and tribulations throughout life. Sports can serve as a place for those struggling to mourn and get through loss together, just as I talked about with the NHL and the collegiate football community. The tragic deaths of Tylee and Johnny remind me that sports are a place of unity for all people despite who their favorite teams are or players and coaches they might dislike. In the end, everyone stands together with one common interest, and that is the love of the game.