Powered by:
as known from New York Timesas known from USA Todayas known from yahoo!
VA
Contains commercial content
The Grueling Truth - Where Legends Speak / The senseless death of Mylan Hicks

The senseless death of Mylan Hicks

Publish Date: 09/27/2016
Fact checked by: Mike Goodpaster

I wonder what Mylan Hicks was thinking about on Saturday night. Maybe his thoughts were focused on the buddies he was hanging out with in Calgary. Or he contemplated how weird it was that he – Mylan Hicks, a guy who’d lived the first 22 years of his life in Detroit and the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing with no aspirations of ever leaving the U.S.A. – was now in a whole other country, albeit in a place city one could squint a bit and imagine Michigan.

Maybe he thought himself lucky to be playing the game he loved for a dominant team. Perhaps he promised himself one more time that he would maximize his playing opportunities for those monstrous Calgary Stampeders to show the San Francisco 49ers and NFL that damn right he was worth another look. Maybe he was thinking nothing so social or lofty, rather deducing like most of have at some point that he’d had a touch too much partying and really wanted some sleep.

But one thought that likely never entered Mylan Hicks’s mind was that he wouldn’t live through Sundy morning.

In these days following the fatal shooting outside a Calgary nightclub, we remember Mylan Hicks. In Canada, on the MSU campus, in Detroit and everywhere via internet, we remember him as a β€œbeautiful person,” a Rose Bowl winner, a force of nature in high-school ball

We remember him because for those who go on, it’s the only thing to do. Because Mylan Hicks is dead well before his time.

Me? I’m just angry about the whole thing. I mean, the *whole thing*. Like, let’s put it plainly: When is the human race going to grow up? Seriously, people, WTF?

β€œNow hang on there, yankee,” you may interrupt. β€œWe still don’t know the details of the incident. No need to be getting ruffled feathers about this yet.”

Fair enough, the much-reported β€œact of violence” resulting in Mylan’s death is, almost two days out, still without much information in continuing media reportage. Hell, this story doesn’t need any sort of racist and/or alcohol-fueled color for us to guess that somebody who should not be toting firearms was packing a piece was, and that person ended a life.

Mylan Hicks could be a symbol for the elimination of gun violence in North America if not for the squall of news produced in the US, from Milwaukee, from Charlotte, from Dallas, from Chicago – the sort of news which makes the casual observer believe that the issues behind such violence are too large to be solved, that dudes like Mylan are fated to meet such senseless ends.

Maybe, just maybe, Mylan Hicks’s death won’t be senseless. Maybe this is the incident that wakes up regular folks like you and I to certain realities that we can deal with. Stuff like the fact that we’re all in this together, about how real issues like environmental damage, the failure of international capitalism and the usual disquietude throughout the planet. Rhetoric and unrealistic idealism aside, this is a time to come together in non-violent fashion to rise above the petty xenophobia that should have been buried with the turn of the millennium. Sure, the world may be scary but it is our fellow humans down in the trenches with whom we should stand united.

The grueling truth here is that, had not some irresponsible and dangerous individual (a teenager, we’re now told) in Calgary given in to irrational fear and baser instincts on Saturday night, Mylan Hicks would be suiting up for the Stampeders this weekend, and the man himself might have enriched more lives instead of passing by most of us through a mention in a Canadian or Michiganian headline.

So when that moment of silence is observed for Mylan Hicks in CFL stadiums and TSN/ESPN broadcasts this weekend, use that time wisely and think. Think about Mylan Hicks’s unfortunate fate, about the world which fosters such incidents, and about our commonalities as individual human beings rather than our differences.
Wake up, everybody, and think. Because we can. Because we are still here, and we are the ones fated to remember.

R.I.P. Mylan Hicks (1993-2016)

Read Also
Tommy Morrison and AIDS: The Truth about what happened
Tommy Morrison burst onto the professional boxing scene in 1988. Following a ...
Come Fly with me: How the 1988-89 Chicago Bulls pushed forward to an NBA dynasty.
Find the best sportsbook to bet on the NBA Playoffs! Prologue: By ...
BetMGM Promo
Esteban de Jesus, Roberto Duran y AIDS (1972-89)
Many of us dream of celebrity sports fame, but only cruel individuals ...
Elmer Ray: The Humble Man of Hastings
"Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for ...
Ranking the top 200 players in the NFL ahead of the 2021 season
This list isn’t based solely on performances from the 2020 NFL season. ...
The Forgotten Canadian Champion (And Maybe It’s Deserved): Billy Hawkins
As Mike Goodpaster and I prepare our popular Old-Time Boxing Show podcast, ...
The Army Boxer Who Knocked-Down Muhammad Ali (1960)
I had wanted to write a boxing story about Junebug Hudson for ...
The Twilight Rounds: Rod Serling explores the dark side of boxing – Round eight
Legend has it that Archie Moore was originally cast in the role ...
The Twilight Rounds: Rod Serling explores the dark side of boxing – Round seven
β€œIn this corner of the universe, a prizefighter named Bolie Jackson, 183 ...
Sportsbook of the month
PointsBet - Get your Bonus Bet now!
-
Latest News
NFL Week 14 Power Rankings
Week 13 is in the books, and a ...
Bengals Weekly Show
Welcome to the Bengals Weekly Show, your ultimate ...
Our Latest YouTube Videos
Video: Indiana Basketball weekly W/Steve Risley: IU/Harvard Preview and UCONN and Louisville Recaps!
Indiana Basketball weekly W/Steve Risley: IU/Harvard Preview and UCONN and Louisville Recaps!
Video: Indiana *Basketball* Weekly W/Steve Risley: IU/Michigan Recap and IU/Auburn Preview
Indiana *Basketball* Weekly W/Steve Risley: IU/Michigan Recap and IU/Auburn Preview
Video: Indiana Basketball Weekly W/Steve Risley: IU vs Michigan Preview and IU/Maryland Recap
Indiana Basketball Weekly W/Steve Risley: IU vs Michigan Preview and IU/Maryland Recap
Betting Tips
12/07/2023 - 8:15 pm
Acrisure
Tip:
Patriots to Cover
6.00
FanDuel
12/05/2023 - 9:00 pm
Chrysler
Tip:
Indiana to Cover
7.50
FanDuel
12/05/2023 - 9:00 pm
Madison Square Garden
Tip:
North Carolina to Cover
5.50
FanDuel
Sportsbook of the month
PointsBet - Get your Bonus Bet now!
-
Top Betting Sites
Top Betting Bonuses
DraftKings
DraftKings
DraftKings Review
4.6/5
FanDuel
FanDuel
FanDuel Review
4.6/5
BetMGM
BetMGM
BetMGM Review
4.5/5
Bet365
Bet365
Bet365 Review
4.5/5
BetRivers.com
BetRivers.com
BetRivers.com Review
4.5/5
DraftKings
DraftKings Bonus
Bet $5 Get $150 Instantly
T&Cs apply
4.6/5
FanDuel
FanDuel Bonus
Bet $5 Get $150 in Bonus Bets
T&Cs apply
4.6/5
BetMGM
BetMGM Bonus
up to $1,500 back in Bonus Bets
T&Cs apply
4.5/5
Bet365
Bet365 Bonus
$1000 in Bonus Bets
T&Cs apply
4.5/5
Place your first cash bet up to $1,000, and if the bet loses, you will have your wager refunded in Bonus Bets. T&Cs, time limits and exclusions apply. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler 21+
Caesars
Caesars Bonus
100% up to $1000
T&Cs apply
4.5/5
Our Team
Mike GoodpasterAuthor IconJosh SchwartzSamuel TeetsSimon Briffa
+10
Mike Goodpaster
Mike Goodpaster
Chief Editor
Author Icon
Christopher Carlson
Content Writer
Josh Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
Editor
Samuel Teets
Samuel Teets
US Sports Veteran
Simon Briffa
Simon Briffa
Sports Editor
Mark Lewis
Mark Lewis
Editor
Chris Benedict
Chris Benedict
Editor
Author Icon
Daniel Kornhauser
Author
John Raspanti
John Raspanti
Author
Author Icon
Malik Zorrok
Author
Author Icon
Buddy Gibbs
Author
Brian Coburn
Brian Coburn
Author
aukje
aukje
Author
Peter Bonahoom
Peter Bonahoom
Author
berina
berina
Author
Find out what the legends have to say about sports this week....

Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.

This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. We adapted Google's Privacy Guidelines to keep your data safe at all times.

21+NCPG
Move to Top
Close
Players accepted in the US US Flag
Stake.us Exclusive Bonus
$25 No Deposit + 250,000 Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Promo Code
Copy
Visit Site
T&Cs apply, 18+
Payment Methods
Bitcoin
Litecoin
Ethereum
Dogecoin
Highlights
  • Exclusive promo code: TGTSOCIAL
  • Play Plinko, Hilo, Crash and more!
  • Get Stake Cash bonuses every day!
Stake Originals
Dice
Crash
Plinko
Mines
×
Your Promo Code:
The bonus offer of was already opened in an additional window. If not, you can open it also by clicking the following link:
Visit Site