Throwing Connections
Athlete Struggling With Dad's Passing Finds Hope
Football has an impact on young athletes mentally and physically, but for sophomore Sequan McNair there’s a connection behind the game.
“I want to play football all through high school, through college and potentially go to the NFL,” McNair said. “A lot of my friendships come from football because we all have something we can relate to and the tough schedule.”
McNair wants to take his dreams to the NFL or work in the medical field with injured athletes, wanting to help those injured players and help them recover. He wants to take football as his outside career and really make something out of it.
But behind his passion for the game he has a reason. He has a big regret that he said affects him in athletics and even deeper than that. He regrets not reaching out to his father before his passing last year. McNair said he struggled to make conversation with his father because he was a drug user, and he didn’t feel like he was talking to his real dad.
“It was the day of my birthday party. It was 10 days after my birthday last year, and me and my brother found out around the same time, which was pretty sad,” McNair said.
The loss brought about a harder struggle for McNair and his family.
“It was just adding to the stress,” McNair said. “It affects me in sports because that’s where I got my athletics from. He was an athlete.”
Playing football reminds McNair of his father, and it helps him with the sport.
“I looked up to my dad,” McNair said. ”Whenever he walked into the room, everyone’s faces would light up. He was a good person; just made poor decisions.”
McNair is close with his grandma and his brother, and they mean a lot to him.
“My brother also plays football which is something we can really relate to,” McNair said.
He talked about his siblings and how they helped him cope with the loss of his father. He said being close to his brother has really made an impact on him and helped him choose to be in athletics.
“I really just want to be involved with something that has to do with athletics for the rest of my life,” McNair said. “I plan to be in it as long as I can.”