The Stevie Hicks Story: Dangers of Hype and Expectations
by Husker Mike on Dec 17, 2008 9:40 PM CST
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PrintThe day after Thanksgiving, former Iowa State running back Stevie Hicks was found dead under a bridge on Interstate 480 in downtown Omaha. A former high school star in Omaha at Creighton Prep, he turned down offers to play for the Huskers to play for his uncle's alma mater in Ames.
While Hicks led the Cyclones in rushing every season during his career, injuries limited his production. After his graduation, his dreams of playing in the NFL didn't come true. Even the Canadian Football League didn't work out.
His family became concerned about Hicks. On that day after Thanksgiving, while nearly everybody else in town was out shopping the "day after Thanksgiving" specials or preparing to head to Lincoln for the NU/Colorado game, Hicks' grandmother Anita called 911, telling the dispatcher that Stevie was having a breakdown.
At 7:35 am, police were called to Anita Hicks' home, where his grandmother pleaded with officers to take Stevie away to get help. Stevie told officers he didn't intend to hurt himself or anybody else. Unable to do anything, police left a half hour later.
At 8:34 am, 911 received reports of a man jumping off a bridge onto Interstate 480. At 9:14 am, Stevie Hicks was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Officially, Hicks died of injuries to his head. But those injuries were merely a side effect of a deeper problem: excessive unrealistic expectations.
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Unbelievably sad story
I love this quote, though:
“All of a sudden, the football’s deflated and you’ve got to go on in life and do something else. . . . We as coaches have to look out for kids that might be going through this. Not just coaching for four years, but for 50 years. There is more to life than sports. You’re not always going to be this great athlete.”
I hope this makes a lot of coaches look at what they’re doing to make sure they’re taking care of their athletes.
We'll carry the banner high!
Bring On The Cats
And, he becomes another footnote and mostly forgotten as the years go by.
When the story broke, I was saddened. But then again, a lot of things about the human experience sadden me.
Horse Farmer
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