Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Chris Henry Dies
Precious little information has come out surrounding the death of Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry, who was allegedly thrown from a truck after some type of domestic dispute yesterday.
What is known by the media is the well-chronicled trouble that plagued Henry earlier in his career, similar to when Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor was murdered last year. Thankfully, after many media members looked stupid last year after suggesting that maybe Taylor's past played a role in his murder only to find out it was a random act, takes on Henry's death so far have been much more measured.
By all accounts, the man had turned his life around and committed himself to his family. It's obviously another tragic story, and blog reactions have been measured and thoughtful:
The Starting Five: "Anyone have that feeling in your heart that I have right now? That empty shaking your head kind of emotion …where the finality of it all seeps deep down into your spirit and waits until you realize whatever is going on in your life is irrelevant because there are people dying. This is why I hug mine. This is why I speak to mine. This is why for granted you must not take time…"
Deadspin: "We don't know why he got in a fight with his fianceé, why he got in the back of that truck, or how he ended up falling out of it, but this last troubling incident is made all the more tragic by the belief of those around him, that there wouldn't be any more. The man once notorious called "a one-man crime wave" had changed his ways."
FreeDarko: "A young man in grips of self-destruction from the day he entered the league; an immense talent who could often convince you he was the best receiver on the Bengals; and, by all accounts, a nice guy that the team simply refused to give up on. I spent last night reloading Twitter over and over again, which was both disturbing and strangely uplifting. This morning, when Henry's death was announced and the search went crazy, I was stunned at how many people professed a lack of surprise. Nothing makes me more judgmental than the internet."
Shutdown Corner: "Sooner or later, we're all going to let somebody down. We're all going to screw up. But life is about how you come back from it, how you learn from it and how you use it to make yourself a better, stronger person. Chris Henry was becoming that guy. And we could have used that."
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