The last few days have been extremely dull for the NFL community after reports confirmed the passing away of Minnesota Vikings rookie CB Khyree Jackson in a brutal car accident. From fans to players to coaches, everyone is still reeling in shock at the suddenness of the news. Khyree’s family expectedly is devastated. The rookie’s grandfather in a recent media appearance shared what Khyree meant for the family and how they plan to get out of this grief.
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Appearing on the NBC News broadcast, Khyree’s grandfather Anthony Jackson first recalled how proud he and the others of his family were of Khyree. Anthony reminisced how Khyree always aimed big and never shied away from giving his all to his goals and to his family.
“He always had high aspirations. He did the best that he could possibly do… in life and with the family.”
The more one thinks about it, the more tragic Khyree’s death gets. A young hardworking lad, who had just broken into the NFL, passed away for no absolute fault of his own. Dealing with death is tough but the nuances in Khyree’s case make it tougher. Khyree’s grandfather acknowledged the toughness of this challenge in front of him and his family. Unfortunately, there is no other option than dealing with the grief. Anthony promised to do that in the best way possible.
“We are going to try to get through this as best as we possibly can.”
Apart from Khyree’s immediate family, if there is one man who has seen Khyree grow both as an athlete and as a human, it was his high school football coach DaLawn Parrish. He too was hurt by the demise of his most successful student.
Khyree Jackson’s High School Coach Reminisces the Rookie’s Early Days
Khyree, Isaiah Hazel, and Anthony Litton, the three deceased in the collision studied and played football at the same school in upper Marlboro. Apart from being part of State Championship teams and being best friends off the field, one common denominator between them was their High School coach DaLawn Parrish.
Parrish, currently the football coach at Westlake High School coached the trio and was visibly distraught hearing the news. To NBC News, the football coach recalled that the trio since the early days were always together. “They were still together, still hanging out, still doing some things together…” recalled DaLawn.
Talking about Khyree, Parrish remembered how he was a phenomenal athlete with an insatiable hunger to excel. In particular, the football coach was in awe of KJ’s incredible self-belief which is what helped him reach the gates of the Vikings.
“KJ was a phenomenal athlete. He could do anything he wanted… Khyree’s belief in himself was incredible.”
Coach Parrish ended his chat by sharing how inspired he was by the three young men. He also hoped that their tale of perseverance, discipline, and grit also inspire countless others.
