The Panthers have dealt with two losses in their locker room over the course of the past month.
After linebacker Shaq Thompson’s mother passed away while the team played in London, defensive end Mario Addison’s brother was shot and killed in Birmingham, AL on Sunday – Addison said in an Instagram post Monday: “This pain is real. Half of my soul gone wen u killed my baby brother last nite. Please live through me n Rest well lil bruh.”
Addison was not at Panthers’ practice Wednesday and the team is allowing him as much time as the 32-year old needs with his family – police found Addison’s brother, Gjamal Antonio Rodriqcus, along with a companion, inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds in Birmingham – Rodriqcus was pronounced dead at the hospital. The police have charged 22-year old Darius Frazier with capital murder and attempted murder, learning that Rodriqcus and Frazier had been in an argument prior to the shooting, according to multiple reports.
Ron Rivera is familiar with loss – he lost his older brother Mickey in 2015 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer – and one of the toughest parts of being in the business that they’re in is that they aren’t afforded the luxury of an appropriate amount of time to grieve. In today’s modern NFL, you can’t step away to process your loss properly without the league passing you by.
In 2015, Rivera was only able to spend a single day with his parents and brothers before having to return to the team.
“The hard part is your grieving process is very limited,” said Ron Rivera. “That was tough. Same thing for Shaq, it’s a very limited time and then we had to get him back and Mario is unfortunately in the same situation, so you try to be there – you constantly reach out with positive messages of support and that’s all you can do.”
“These are young men that are dealing with these types of situations that are very difficult and you’re never ready for it. I can promise you that much; even though you know it may be coming, it’s looming over the horizon, but you’re never prepared so all we can do is let them know that we’re thinking of them, we’re supporting them, we’re praying for them and we’re here for them.”
“And then when they do get back, you’ve got to rally around them.”
That support – which Rivera pointed out is something he’s been impressed with as his teammates have attempted to comfort Thompson after the loss of his mother on October 14th – has meant the world to Thompson as he returned to the team last week and dedicated the rest of the season to his mother via social media.
“It means they care for us,” Thompson told reporters Wednesday. “It’s bigger than football. They understand we need breaks from football sometimes, especially when it has to do with family.”
“They told me to take as long as I needed. They texted me every day to tell me they’re thinking of me. I’m sure they’re doing the same thing for Rio.”
Gjamal Antonio Rodriqcus was 27 years old.
