James White held back his tears on Monday and then let them flow.
The New England Patriots ball driver had just played his first game since he wasted his father, Tyrone, on a fatal car turn of fate two weeks earlier.
Tyrone White Sr. used to text his son the day before his games, but this weekend those messages never came, bringing home a dark truth that has still penetrated completely for the veteran Captain of the Patriots.
“Just undeniable text messages he’d send me to put me in a position for games and everything else,” Whiteman visibly excited after the Patriots’ 26-10 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The last text I won on Saturday before the Seahawks game just for that.
“He meant everything to me. He led me. He didn’t tell me what he was looking to hear, yet he looked for me to do the right things and strive to be as productive as possible. . . . He made me who I am today.
White took a leave of office from the Patriots after his father’s death on the day of New England’s week 2 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks. He did not play in this game or the next and spent a week in his local Florida to be with his family. , adding her mother, Lisa, who was hospitalized as a result of the accident.
Lisa White arrived at the hospital in critical condition, according to initial reports, but White said her fitness had improved.
“Honestly, everything is still a little surreal to me,” White said. “My mom keeps getting better, progressing and getting better, which relieves me a little bit, and being in the football area relieves me a little too. I just checked the exit to pass, because that’s what my father would need me to do. So I checked to take it one day at a time and look for a way to see all the positive facets of my life. “
Just two days after his father’s death, White celebrated his son’s first birthday, Xzavier. In an Instagram post that day, he wrote, “I hope I can be as smart as a father to you as my father to my brother and me. “
“Honestly, there were a lot of things in my mind, but I tried to make the little one’s day as special as possible,” White recalled Monday. “There were many emotions. I was in the hospital with my mom all day and I came home for a few hours to give her a cake and things of that nature, then I spent the night with my mom again. A lot of things happened, but I tried to make this day as special as possible.
White returned to practice last week and was one of New England’s most productive offensive players opposed to Kansas City, completing seven passes for 38 yards and a total of 21 yards on 3 hauls. His teammates were grateful to see him again.
“For him, being passed out, playing and leading this team the way he did is an inspiration,” said compatriot Damien Harris. “It makes the boys need to play harder. It makes the boys need to do their homework better knowing we have a guy like James White in our locker room, a guy who happens to take us no matter what. . . I can’t say enough clever words about him. “
Special group captain Matthew Slater added: “It means a lot to us to locate him, emotionally. We feel like we’ve been with him, although none of them can relate to everything that’s happened. But emotionally, it gave us a big boost. James means a lot to our team. “
White said the help of his teammates and today helped him at this tricky time.
“My teammates were there for me every step of the way,” he said. “We have a circle environment of relatives in this locker room. From text messages to phone calls, tweets, former teammates, enthusiasts, each and every one. it meant a lot.
“It was incredibly complicated for me. I mean, my brain still can’t concentrate on everything that’s happened. He’s just looking to process everything. But just listening to them and being there for me helped me.