We've been through this too many times.
That was my first thought Saturday when I heard the awful news that Dwayne Haskins was killed after being struck by a vehicle in South Florida early Saturday morning.
Has any other city been through more tragedies involving sports figures than our city?
Haskins' death was like all of the others that happened before him in our sports world. It was almost unfathomable, so sad that mere words don't do it justice. One minute, he was training with teammates, trying to secure his spot on the Steelers roster for the 2022 season. The next minute, he was gone, more proof that life never should be taken for granted, as if we needed that proof. I can only imagine the grief Haskins' family is experiencing, the same grief that any family feels when they lose someone so young and so full of life with so much ahead. I never had the chance to talk to Haskins because of COVID-19 restrictions, but, by all accounts, he was a great guy and terrific teammate. Just type in his name on social media to see the outpouring of affection for him. He was going to turn 25 on May 3.
Life can be so unfair.
This tragedy will again rock a Steelers locker room that was brought to its knees in August 2019 when wide receivers coach Darryl Drake was found dead in his dorm room at training camp at St. Vincent College. He was 62.
Haskins was in South Florida at a group workout organized by new teammate Mitchell Trubisky. It was a nice opportunity for the Steelers quarterbacks to get some early work in with some of the team's receivers, tight ends and running backs. It's easy to imagine their shock when they learned of Haskin's death. "Devastated," Mason Rudolph tweeted, one of those many tributes to Haskins on social media.
That was the same overwhelming feeling of loss that Pirates teammates experienced when they woke up on New Year's Day 1973 to learn of the death of Roberto Clemente in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico. Clemente, the greatest Pirates player of all and a hero to Latin players everywhere, was on a mission of mercy to deliver relief supplies to Earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. He was 38.
The Pirates also lost pitcher Bob Moose in a car accident in 1976 on his birthday, Oct. 9. He is best remembered for his no-hitter in 1969 against the soon-to-be World Series champion New York Mets and throwing a ninth-inning wild pitch against the Cincinnati Reds in the deciding game that eliminated the Pirates in the 1972 National League championship series. He was 29.
The Penguins also have been touched by tragedy all too frequently. You've seen the No. 21 jersey that hangs in the rafters at PPG Paints Arena next to No. 66? It belonged to Michel Briere, who died at 21 in 1971 of complications from an auto accident that left him in a coma for 11 months. The Penguins lost general manager Baz Bastien in an auto accident in 1983 and scout and former coach Herb Brooks — the architect of the "Miracle on Ice" U.S. team at the 1980 Olympics — in an auto crash in 2003. Winger Stan Gilbertson was lucky to have survived his auto accident before training camp in 1977 but did have his left leg amputated above the knee because of severe nerve damage.
Sadly, Haskins' death isn't the first time the Steelers have been crushed by a tragic loss. Rookie Randy Frisch, a defensive tackle from Missouri, was killed in a car accident on Route 30 on his way back to training camp in 1977 after an exhibition game with the Buffalo Bills. Free agent wide receiver Dave Grinaker survived that crash but didn't play football again.
Gabe Rivera, a rookie defensive tackle from Texas Tech, was paralyzed from the chest down after a car crash in October 1983. He was legally drunk at the time of the accident. Rivera, who always will be remembered for being the Steelers' first-round pick in the 1983 NFL draft instead of Dan Marino, died at 57 in July 2018.
Enough is enough.
How much grief should one city be forced to endure?
