Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders delivered a poignant message to his players this week after the tragic suicide of former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy.
'I do not want to lose one of y'all, at all,' Sanders said to Buffaloes players in one portion of the two-minute video. 'Do y'all understand?'
Lacy died Saturday in Houston due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound after crashing his vehicle while trying to evade local police, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
The 24-year-old was already facing several felony charges following a fatal car crash on December 17 that claimed the life of 78-year-old Louisiana native Herman Hall. Two days later, Lacy declared for the NFL Draft, resulting in a wave of criticism against the former Tigers standout.
But Sanders wasn't focused on the circumstances facing Lacy. Rather, in speaking with his own players, Coach Prime stressed the importance of loving yourself and your teammates.
'We all have a mirror,' Sanders began. 'I don't know nobody in here that don't have a mirror. Am I right or wrong?'
Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders delivered a poignant message to his players this week after the tragic suicide of former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy
Lacy died Saturday in Houston due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound after crashing his vehicle while trying to evade local police, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office
Naturally, the entire locker room agreed.
'But the difference with all of us is when we look in the mirror, 'what do we see?' Sanders continued. 'Some see themselves. Some see an illusion. Some are just delusional… And often times it's this generation, because you won't live up to what you really see in that mirror.
'But you got to start off, fellas and ladies, by loving yourself, because I would hate to suffer that devastation that was suffered this past week.
'There's someone in this room and they're hiding in plain sight,' he continued. 'So, you don't have to be that emotional, you don't have to be that kind, you don't have to be that considerate. But look at your teammate and say, 'you know I love you, right? You know that, right? And all the rest of y'all.'
Sanders slapped a few fives as he strolled through the locker room before asking: 'How hard was that?'
'So give love to your teammates,' he continued. 'You're always talking about family. You're always talking about family, you're always breaking it down to 'my family,' but are you really family?
'Because family should know each other, family should love each other, family should support each other, family should be there for one another. Am I right or wrong?'
Once again, Buffaloes players agreed with their coach.
'Well if we're going to be family, let's be family,' he concluded.
Lacy is seen with his father at his LSU graduation. The prospect had previously been charged with negligent homicide in a separate incident.
Lacy, 24, was arrested on January 13 after an arrest warrant was issued by local police
Lacy led the Tigers with nine touchdowns last season and seemed assured of being picked in next week's NFL Draft before a pair of crises resulted in his suicide.
He'd been criticized for declaring for the NFL Draft just two days after the fatal crash. But according to his attorney, Matthew Ory, the standout receiver did not believe he was at fault in the collision, so he 'continued with his daily activities.'
'The collision that resulted in the death of Mr. Herman was not caused by Mr. Lacy's actions,' Ory wrote in a February statement. 'The accident occurred directly in front of him when a second vehicle in the oncoming lane crossed the centerline and collided with Mr. Herman's vehicle, in which he was a passenger.
Lacy's case was set to be heard by a grand jury on Monday, less than 48 hours after his reported death.
That was a backdrop to the incidents of Saturday. At around 11:15pm, a weapons disturbance is said to have been reported near Houston by one of Lacy's family members. The woman told police that they got into a verbal altercation before Lacy fired a weapon at the ground.
Lacy then fled the scene, but did not comply with cops when they later identified his car and tried to stop him.
Police told TMZ that Lacy's car ultimately crashed, and cops found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound when they tried to extract him from the vehicle.
