University of Virginia football players are honored in memorial service
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Thousands of people joined Virginia’s football team, coaches and staff on Saturday to honor three players who were shot dead while returning from a field trip last weekend.
Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were remembered at a memorial service in Charlottesville as great teammates who smiled constantly and tried to brighten the lives of those around them, from fellow players to other students and fans.
The service came a day after Virginia basketball players paid tribute as they returned to court for the first time since the campus shooting.
“Only time will reveal God’s purpose in this adversity. Going forward, I am confident that all three of them will rejoice in paradise, speaking good things on behalf of each of us in preparation for the time when we will all be together again,” said first-year head coach Tony Elliott.
To the family members and friends seated in the front two rows, Elliott added, “I am grateful for your willingness to share your family’s gifts with all of us.”
Athletic director Carla Williams shared stories she heard this week from relatives of the players, saying the tragedy “has pushed me to my limits.”
Thousands of people joined Virginia’s football team, coaches and staff on Saturday for a memorial service in Charlottesville to honor three players who were shot dead last weekend
University of Virginia Athletic Director Carla Williams, left, and football coach Tony Elliott wipe tears from their eyes while serving for Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry, and Devin Chandler
“We are better and will do better because we will make sure their legacy never fades at the University of Virginia,” she vowed, telling the families, “We loved your sons.”
The service at John Paul Jones Arena took place on a day when the Cavaliers were scheduled to play No. 23 Coastal Carolina, but instead chose to honor their fallen teammates, as well as injured player Mike Hollins and another student who was shot.
One of the hosts was Grammy-winning gospel singer Cece Winans, who the school said was asked to participate. She sang “Goodness of God.”
Several Cavaliers took part. Placekicker Justin Duenkel gave an opening prayer, linebacker Hunter Stewart read the Langston Hughes poem ‘Life is Fine’ and defensive end Jack Camper gave the closing prayer. In between, drivers and teammates of the killed men offered stories and thoughts about their football brothers.
Gospel singer CeCe Winans sings as three players were memorialized at the John Paul Jones Arena
Ross Brown places flowers on a memorial at the John Paul Jones Arena on the university’s campus
A family member of a shooting victim mourns at a memorial service in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Perry was “destined to be great at everything he did,” said defensive tackle Aaron Faumui. He added that Perry often reminded him that “life was more important than football.”
In a letter to Chandler, who called Williams “a dancing machine,” Cody Brown told him that “you lit up our lives like a shining star in the sky” and said, “We love you so much and know that you are upon us from heaven. looking down.’
Coach Marques Hagans said Davis was humble with a radiant smile and “determined to be a great example to his younger sister and brother.”
Teammate Chico Bennett offered a message for Hollins and Marlee Morgan, the injured student, neither of whom was present: “We love you. We got you. The adventure begins.’
Community members attended the memorial service of three players who died on campus this past weekend
Kicker Will Bettridge shared that Perry once told him, on the sidelines, that he would tell his kid to play that position because kickers have so little to do.
“A piece of my life has been taken from me and from the Cavaliers community,” Bettridge said.
University president Jim Ryan said the shootings “changed our world” and while he and others will mourn the games the students will never play, “together we will find strength again.”
The players were killed last Sunday after a field trip to Washington, DC. Former football player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. of Virginia faces three counts of manslaughter and other charges. The shootings sparked a manhunt and a 12-hour lockdown on campus before Jones was apprehended.
The suspect was never mentioned during the nearly two-hour shift.
Mourners were let in an hour before the service was scheduled to begin and heard music performances by school choir groups and the MLK Community Choir. Pictures of the players as children and in action on the field rolled across the video board.