On Saturday, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was tragically killed when he was hit by a dump truck in South Florida. The announcement of his death sent shock waves throughout the sports and entertainment world who responded to the news with an outpouring of sympathy and support.
But there were also some very insensitive and unnecessary tweets from prominent NFL insiders made about Haskins’ football ability and even his value as a person, which has no relevance to the tragedy that cut a promising life short.
First, ESPN’s Adam Schefter sent a very insensitive tweet alluding to Haskins’ struggles on the field with the Washington Commanders. Washington chose Haskins with the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, and things didn’t work out.
Here’s what Schefter said before deleting the tweet:
This makes me so mad. Dwayne Haskins was a human being, not a prop to make your tweet look better. Do better @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/V6aAz3fLCN
— Sir Yacht (@SirYacht_) April 9, 2022
He then came back with a cleaner version after receiving some backlash.
Dwayne Haskins, a standout at Ohio State before becoming Washington’s first-round pick and playing in Pittsburgh, died this morning when he got hit by a car in South Florida, per his agent Cedric Saunders. Haskins would have turned 25 years old on May 3.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 9, 2022
Former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt took it even further with his insensitive remarks:
Here is @Gil_Brandt on NFL radio when asked about Dwayne Haskins.
“He was a guy that was living to be dead.”
“It was always something” with Haskins
“Maybe it he stayed in school a year he wouldn’t do silly things [like] jogging on a highway.” pic.twitter.com/cuZZdqYOck— Pete Damilatis (@PeteDamilatis) April 9, 2022
And akin to Schefter deleting his tweet, Brandt came back with a lame apology a couple hours later. Schefter and Brandt should be reprimanded for those insensitive remarks. Haskins and his family have much to be proud of, as he reached the top of his profession.
Some in the sports world was outraged at the series of tweets. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson didn’t like them one bit and took a direct shot a Schefter’s neck.
@AdamSchefter you lame asf all around grown ass man and can look in the mirror and smile at yourself
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) April 9, 2022
Despite past immaturities, the consensus opinion throughout the Steelers organization was that the 24-year-old was leaps and bounds beyond where he was mentally when he first left college.
Haskins Was Talented And Seemed To Be Maturing And On The Right Track
Haskins, the former Ohio State Buckeyes, Washington Commanders and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, was in South Florida with his Steelers teammates to work out and have throwing sessions.
He and the two other Steelers quarterbacks, Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, organized workouts for the players to get acclimated.
Haskins was heading into his second season with the Steelers. The loss, as you can imagine, rocked the organization because of its unexpectedness.
Head coach Mike Tomlin commented on this very shocking and unfortunate situation:
Haskins Was A DMV Native: Played At Bullis High School, Flipped From UMD To Ohio State
While Haskins was born in New Jersey, the strong-armed gunslinger’s family relocated to Potomac, Maryland, prior to his freshman year of high school. Haskins showed off his dynamic arm talent at that level, passing for 5,308 yards and 54 touchdowns.
After originally committing to play for Maryland, Haskins flipped his commitment to the Ohio State Buckeyes when the program fired coach Randy Edsall. The move turned out to be a good one for Haskins. He won the starting job prior to the 2018 season.
In one full year as a starter, Haskins lit up college football with 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns through the air, finishing third in the Heisman voting, and declaring for the NFL draft against the wishes of Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, who wanted him to stay another season. Haskins’ former coach spoke glowingly of his former pupil.
The loss of Dwayne is beyond tragic and extremely difficult to process. For those who knew him closely, he was much more than a great football player. He had a giant heart, old soul and an infectious smile. The Ohio State community and our entire football program are heartbroken.
— Ryan Day (@ryandaytime) April 9, 2022
DMV Legend
Haskins is the highest drafted QB from the DMV in the modern era. While he showed some flashes of brilliance in Washington, that also came with some immaturity that stopped him from seriously competing for a starting job.
Having a veteran disciplinarian coach in Ron Rivera, who had very little patience for young players, influenced Haskins’ release late in the 2020 season.
Haskins was signed by the Steelers and spent the 2021 season as the team’s third quarterback. 2022 was seen as an opportunity to possibly see the field again with Ben Roethlisberger retiring.
With the aforementioned Trubisky and Rudolph being journeymen at best, many believed Haskins had a shot to play this season. Unfortunately, we won’t have the chance to see that dynamic unfold.
Dwayne “Simba7” Haskins Jr., gone way too soon at age 24.
