The Los Angeles Chargers got a much-needed win on the road in Nashville on Sunday. While not always pretty the Justin Herbert and Daiyan Henley-led Chargers (6-3) pulled out a hard fought (27-20) road win over the Tennessee Titans. Playing with a heavy heart the aforementioned Henley finished with seven total tackles, one sack and one pass deflected.
Henley, the 25-year-old rising star and son of Rolling 60’s gang leader Eugene “Big U” Henley played in Sunday’s game despite losing his 34-year-old brother Jabari “Baby Uiie” Henley who was killed on Friday night outside of a Los Angeles smoke shop. Henley played great and after sacking Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward, he celebrated by sending up a prayer to his now deceased brother.
Chargers Player Daiyan Henley Speaks About Family Drama This Season
Speaking of the sack and celebration in honor of his brother, Henley told reporters:
“I just wanted to talk to my brother one more time. “It was just an emotional moment for me just to be able to make a play on a day like this, just losing him so soon. Like I said, it’s been a long year for me, so I had to just send a prayer up and hopefully he heard it.”
“That’s like my best friend,” Henley said. “I called him a protector. One thing, he was a protector of our family.”
It’s been a whirlwind year for Henley, but he says he has no intentions of not playing in Sunday’s game, especially after speaking with his imprisoned dad who told him to channel the rage he’s been feeling and go out and play.
“I had a lot of pain, man, a lot of pain,” Henley said. “I just wanted to go out there and just let it out, whatever I had to get out.”
“As traumatizing as all this is, I got a job to do,” Henley said. “For me, it was coming out here and handling a job first and then being emotional after, and everything hit me pretty hard.
“It’s probably been the worst year of my life, to be quite honest with you.”
It was good to see Henley back to normal, as the third-year linebacker has overcome an early season infection that forced him to lose 10 pounds, need an oxygen tank on the sidelines. His play suffered as well, but in wake of family tragedy Henley once again looked like the rising star that led the Chargers in tackles as a rookie and second-year player.
Big U’s Past Not A Good Look For Family
Henley’s father, the aforementioned Big U a first-generation Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips leader-turned-music executive, was arrested and charged with 43 counts of running a criminal enterprise that committed a series of racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud and the 2021 murder of a rap artist. Eugene Henley has denied the allegations.
He’s also adamant in his denial of the allegations surrounding the 2019 death of rapper Nipsey Hussle. Unfortunately for Henley’s family they’re seemingly suffering from the residue of his past transgressions.
