One former Big Ten standout and current NFL star has stepped up in the midst of an unimaginable tragedy for a family near his hometown.
Jaylon McKenzie, a 14-year-old football phenom who held offers from Illinois and Missouri as an eighth grader, was attending a post-prom house party in Venice, Illinois, Saturday night when a fight broke out. As he was attempting to leave the party and avoid the chaos, gunfire rang out and McKenzie was hit by a stray bullet; after being taken to a local hospital, the young man was pronounced dead.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a representative for Ezekiel Elliott, a St. Louis native who starred at Ohio State, got into contact with McKenzie’s mother two days after the shooting and offered to pay for her son’s funeral. As it turns out, McKenzie was a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys running back.
From the Post-Dispatch:As a preteen Jaylon McKenzie was glued to the TV during the 2016 NFL draft when the Dallas Cowboys selected Ezekiel Elliott as the team’s first-round pick.
Jaylon watched as Elliott, a running back who grew up in Alton not far from Jaylon’s home in Belleville, crossed the stage. Jaylon pictured himself one day accepting a jersey of his own.
“It’s so generous,” McKenzie’s mother, Sukeena Gunner, told the newspaper. “I remember Jaylon watching him cross that stage and thinking: ‘I can do this,’ so it means a lot.”
Gunner also stated that two other NFL players have offered to pay for her son’s funeral, although those players have thus far remained nameless.
As of this posting, no arrests have been made in the criminal act that claimed McKenzie’s life, with the Post-Dispatch writing that "[a]uthorities asked anyone who witnessed the shooting to call Illinois State Police Investigations Case Agent Scott Wobbe at 618-381-1467.”
