Jaylon McKenzie, a 14-year-old football phenom who was featured in a 2018 edition of Sports Illustrated on future NFL stars, had his life tragically cut short when a stray bullet struck him last Saturday night at a party near the Illinois-Missouri border.
“I just started screaming,” his mother, Sukeena Gunner, told CNN. “I just prayed and asked the Lord not to take my baby. … It’s very hard. It’s still like a bad dream, like I’m gonna wake up in the morning and my baby’s gonna be smiling at me asking for something to eat like he always does.”
Heartbroken by the news of McKenzie’s passing, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott reached out to the family and offered to pay for the entire funeral.
However, Elliott isn’t the only NFL player stepping up and offering to help the family financially.
ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports that New York Giants edge rusher Markus Golden, a St. Louis native, has also reached out and offered financial support to the Gunner/McKenzie family.
McKenzie, who long dreamed of playing in the NFL, was a big fan of the sport at every level and idolized wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas, and also kept a close eye on Tavon Austin and Odell Beckham Jr.
