New York Giants draft pick Corey Ballentine should have been in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with his teammates during rookie minicamp, but instead he was saying goodbye to his close friend Dwane Simmons.
Simmons was killed in a shooting in Topeka, Kansas, a mere seven hours after Ballentine had been selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft — a shooting that also left Ballentine hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his glute.
The Giants initially expected Ballentine to attend rookie minicamp but later requested the cornerback remain home with his family as he mourned the passing of his best friend and former teammate at Division II Washburn.
Ensuring he felt the full weight of the organization’s support, the Giants also sent two representatives — Jessie Armstead and Ronnie Barnes — to be by Ballentine’s side during Simmons’ funeral.
“He needed that,” Ballentine’s father, Karl Vaughn, told NJ Advance Media before Armstead and Barnes arrived. “It shows how classy an organization they are. I’m glad my son will be playing there.”
Vaughn also said he’s forgiven WFAN’s Mike Francesa, who in the hours after the shooting implied that Ballentine might have been a low-character individual.
“I’m not upset. I’m not mad,” Vaughn said. “I’m extremely blessed my son is alive, and we’ll move on with God, who is a big part of our lives. He forgives. How could we not?”
Forgiveness and sorrow are what filled the air as family and friends said goodbye to a good young man whose life was taken for reasons that remain unclear, for reasons that can never be justified.
“I don’t think I’d be able to do that for my best friend,” Ballentine’s former Washburn teammate Heath Tucker said. “I wouldn’t want to deal with that closure the way he has to. I just hope he doesn’t ask why. Because there is no answer.”
For Ballentine, there’s a tough road ahead, but it’s clear he’ll have the support of the New York Football Giants during this journey.
