Just saw on The Big Lead (via TMZ) that Bengals WR Chris Henry died this morning. TMZ cites Charlotte-Mecklenburg police as saying that Henry died at 6:36 AM this morning at the age of 26.
This is the latest that is known regarding the cause of Henry’s death, which is still being investigated:
…cops believe Henry — a wide receiver on the Cincinnati Bengals — jumped into the back of the truck, in an attempt to stop his fiancee from leaving a “domestic situation” at her parents’ home in North Carolina.
Last night, when media reports were describing the situation as “dire”, Henry’s agent released the following statement:
“We ask everyone to pray for Chris. We also ask that you respect the privacy of Chris’ family. Chris is indeed battling for his life tonight, and our thoughts and prayers (are) with him during this extremely difficult time.”
This article by Fox News has more information regarding the nature of the accident that led to Chris Henry’s death:
Police said a dispute began at a home just before noon and Henry jumped into the bed of the pickup truck as his fiancee — whom they did not identify by name — was driving away from the residence.
“The domestic situation continued between the operator and Mr. Henry,” the police said in a statement. “At some point while she was driving, Mr. Henry came out of the back of the vehicle.”
Henry was found on a residential street about a half mile from the home when police were called to the scene.
It is a sad story any time someone so young dies so needlessly. What makes this story even more unfortunate and tragically ironic is that Henry is a guy who has been dogged by trouble ever since we first began hearing about him during his West Virginia days. As an NFL player, he became something of a icon of the “bad news” Bengals. But this year he had really started to rehab his image and was again an integral part of the Bengals’ offense. In fact, the team has really struggled to move the ball through the air since Henry got hurt and went on IR.
John Erradi of Cincinnati.com reflected on Henry’s growth in an article this morning:
I’ve grown to like Chris Henry.
…
The only attitude I saw was a good one.
He was saying all the right things, and on the field, he was doing all the right things.
As long as he was a contributing member of this team, I didn’t expect something terrible to happen to him.
And as long as he stayed a contributing member of this team, I believed he had a good chance of turning his life around.
Unfortunately, Chris Henry will now not have the chance to complete his turnaround.
Rest in peace Chris. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and the Bengals on what must be a very difficult day.
Update: While reading a few more of the stories that are popping up about Chris Henry this morning, I came across a quote from one of his Bengals’ teammates that seems to sum up how Henry’s reputation was beginning to change and how the Bengals’ decision to have faith and give him another chance is now being viewed.
“A lot of teams would have just thrown him away,” former teammate Willie Anderson said Wednesday night. “You can say a lot about the Bengals, positive and negative. But you have to commend what Mike Brown and the Bengals did for this kid. They believed in him and it turned out that’s what he needed.”
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