A Father's Mourning

This is a story which I was originally hesitant to post simply because there was no way for most of us to understand what Tony Dungy is going through, and any attempt to do so would most likely fall far short of the goal. But Coach Dungy's public morning of his son's death has convinced me that this is a story worth sharing.

First off, I wish my best to the Dungy family and friends. There can be nothing more saddening than losing a loved one, especially one so young, during the holiday season. Coach Dungy has proven he is a stronger man than myself and many others by making his mourning public to try and teach another lesson about the importance of reaching out to your children. Some people will criticize Dungy for not paying enough attention to his son, but Dungy was an especially caring father who, when he was with the Bucs, warned the organization that he would not work until all hours of the night because he wanted to pick up his children from school.

Which brings me to the James Dungy, who until a week ago was unknown to the world. James was an adult (although barely one at the age of 18) who had moved back to Tampa (from Indy) to attend college. James had planned to pursue a career in criminal justice. As you might have heard in the news James had a MySpace profile which he had updated just a day before his suicide. I feel uncomfortable about linking to this snapshot of what is obviously a tortured soul, but there remains the chance that more knowledge of what James went through could help prevent a situation like this from happening again.