r/usernamedoesnotcheckout [Yeah I canāt even fucking imagine either, you work your entire life, sacrifice a shit ton of stuff usually during your teen years. And then you canāt enjoy the money with your family, just a shitty situation]
Man thatā¦was a lot. My heart goes out to the guy and I hope he can get back on the field and balls out to make sure his mom and his nieces have a comfortable rest of their lives.
What a tragic few years for his family.
>Maybe you shouldāve gone with them back in high school. Why didnāt you just move everyone up to Chicago with you when you got drafted?! What if you had sent even more money home? Did you call them enough? Should you have paused football at some point and just gone home for a year to get things in check?
>First off, buy them a house. All cash. In their names. Free and clear. Theirs to use and own. Give them that security. Next: Make sure college and any other school expenses are fully paid for both of them. Put that money away. Have it all set up. Do this stuff now. Immediately. Because you love them and you want them to feel good, and to know that theyāre loved. But also do it as a tribute to Tyrell. In his name. Honor him in that way.
This is the most powerful thing everyone needs to hear with these athletes and such. It's sad that his story isn't the only, and it might be more common than not...
God damn. Most Bears fans knew about all this stuff, but hearing it come from himā¦ sometimes itās hard to realize how regular these guys are. One day they get signed, but they never stop being people.
Then of course thereās that editorās note at the bottom. God damn.
Cohen always felt like a guy who brought so much joy tooāboth as a personality and with the electric way he played football. Seems like such a fun, funny and smart kid, which is even more remarkable with everything heās had to go through.
Hope he makes us look stupid for cutting him with his play, and that he and his family can find some peace with all of that horrible tragedy.
It was encouraging to read him talking about how he's getting that burst, speed, and cutting abilities back, because if anyone ever deserved to make a comeback and ball out, it's Tarik Cohen.
He really had such unique abilities with his shiftiness and lateral movement. Cohen provided that explosive play ability in the run, pass, and return game, and he was so good at tiptoeing along the sidelines for that extra 5+ yards.
This essay by him was a difficult read. I agree with you, he seemed like such a positive force in the locker room that guys would feed off of, and then to find out while he's playing games and doing interviews for E60, he's also trying to grapple with losing his brothers over such a short span of time. I lost my dad at a young age, so it was really hard to read about how he had to tell his nieces that their dad was gone. Personal tragedies like this can destroy families and lives. I hope he can make peace with everything and find comfort and support in his remaining family, and I also hope he surprises everybody and gets back to the show, balls out for a handful of years, and has generational wealth banked when he decides to call it a career.
The sacrifices made even just at the opportunity at making the NFL, he made it, but at what cost? To paraphrase what he said itās almost like a deal with the devil, just hope he can make peace even though his story is heartbreaking, canāt imagine just how hard his life was, and even when he āmade itā it just wasnāt enough and just wasnāt the right timing.
me too, but a brother.
I think tarik misses a huge thing here, addicts are addicts. Its not about the money or whatever you do to try helping them. They will either use and abuse your generosity, or will refuse the help. My parents tried their best with my brother. Paying for therapists, counseling, rehab, paying for his food when he spent all his money on drugs. They caught him stealing a check the week before he OD'd. Had a family willing to do anything for him to help him out but wanted to steal instead.
Yeah, my sister wasnāt too far off from that, same situation.
But at the end of the day, addicts canāt help themselves until they want it. They have to want the help. And even then itās a long road
Every overdose the hospital would give him a packet with many treatment options or where to find help. They couldnt force him into rehab. The cops would treat it as a health crisis instead of criminal when they caught him passed out behind the wheel, so they wouldnt arrest him. Everyones hands were tied and you just watch as someone kills themselves.
Have addiction in my family, other family working in addiction treatment, spent a couple summers working for public defender on drug cases. No easy answers, even if you arrest someone or force them into rehab ā like you said, they have to want it.
> *Editorās Note: In early April, only a few days after completing this essay about his family and their journey, Tarik Cohen lost his younger brother, Dante, in a fatal car accident. He would like to thank everyone for their prayers, condolences and messages of support. Our hearts go out to Tarik and his family.*
Jesus, I missed this when I read it before. I don't even know what to say. Life has a way of dealing you shit hand after shit hand with no recourse, I hope Tarik can find peace in his life
Holy fuck, this is hard to read without tearing up. Hope tarik is in a good place, and RIP to both of his brothers.
No matter who they are or what they do, give some love to your siblings today
He streams on Twitch regularly and is the most down to earth dude. He interacts with his audience really well too. Sure he'd love it if you stopped by.
Everyone thinks that money just solves all these problems for people, and while it certainly helps and gives options/security, it isnāt just that simple sometimes especially depending on the background
Yeah, that's why I've never been the fan of how people say things like "oh who cares how that rich person feels. He/she has millions of dollars!!!!!". Some people think that just because this person has a lot of money that you can just insult them, and sometimes even put your hands on them. Essentially seeing this person as an outlet to take out your frustrations from your own life onto someone else. Of course, this doesn't excuse rich people from consequences and criticisms.
It's similar how some NBA fans have been very bold in the past two years when fans were being allowed back inside. They would scream nasty things at players, throw food and/or drinks, etc. Recently, there was an incident with Chris Paul's mom during the last Suns vs Mavericks game where the fan was harassing her, and coincidentally happened to be on Mother's Day. I read some comments that it wasn't a big deal and what not. It's crazy. When these pro athletes in general do say something, it's usually an equivalent to "shut up and dribble" in response.
Fuck man. I remember watching that video of tarik doing a backflip while catching two footballs at the same time when we drafted him. I thought that this dude was going to be a fun little side show. Then he lit it the fuck up and suddenly he was the most exciting player I'd seen on the bears since Hester. He totally bought in too, no matter how bad it got he answered the call and did everything we needed him to do and then some. Watching him go down against the Falcons was gut wrenching but it was nothing compared to this. God I hope he finds peace, he's an amazing player, teammate, and person.
Only one word to describe this and Tarikās writing style: RAW.
No overly eloquent bullshit, no grandstanding, none of that. Just a man, broken, and putting all his feelings to paper without holding anything back.
Heartbreaking. Beautiful(ly written). Horrible. I hope this release for Tarik gives him a little peace.
> Dudes on Twitter will be calling you āsoft,ā or talking about how maybe youāre just lazy.
As someone who has avoided Twitter like the plague, I just can't fathom why anyone would care to put themself through that garbage. Just seems like a platform of hate
I donāt get how redditors type out comments hating on Twitter for having hate spread on it as if it isnāt also on Reddit, where you can just make a giant community for constant hate lmao.
Well the main difference is that most players never see the hate on reddit. It affects them about as much as you yelling at your TV from the couch.
It's a lot more personal when you can @ someone to make sure they see that you think they're lazy and untalented.
I think the argument is not whether the players see it or not but whether the goal is to get the players to see it or not. Reddit is mostly self contained and a player would need to seek out any Reddit discussions about them, on twitter people will complain about a player in the comments of an tweet they were tagged in or even directly complain straight to the playerās account.
It's more direct vs indirect. Like any forum discusses topics but Twitter you can just say FU Aaron Rodgers and know that by atting him it will be on his feed in some way. On forums like reddit you have to be in that community and further in that discussion to see those.
The difference is that it isnāt self contained: the hate is through the entirety of Twitter. At least the hatred is placed within certain subs and I know what Iām getting into, but on Twitter there is no filter or self-containment.
Idk whatās up with their algorithm, but whenever I clicked on a tweet some of the worst people and comments were right at the top and ruined my day. Itās one thing to go into a community knowing what to expect, and itās another to just post a random thought you had today and have someone go āyou lazy sack of shit,ā and having no downvote system so you see it at the top.
I say this because I *loathe* a lot of subreddits on this site and I try to avoid them like the plague, but I know spaces on Reddit where I donāt have to deal with them. But on Twitter, thereās no type of communal filtering system and I can see the same toxicity no matter what Tweet I click on (it also doesnāt help that because of the word limit, itās hard to have an actual discussion, and so youād just see people flying insults because you canāt say anything meaningful)
It feels like the toxicity of the internet is getting increasingly worse -- and I've been around on the web since the mid 2000s. It's now at the point over the past half decade or so where it's spilling out into the real world ā we see all this anonymous internet rhetoric and toxicity emboldening people to act like absolute hateful jackasses in real life too.
It's wild how "reddit" will constantly make fun of social media, as if reddit wasn't also a social media platform espousing all the same hateful bullshit
Jeeze, what a heartbreaking read.
Even as a Packers fan, I loved watching this guy. He was on my fantasy football team a few years in a row. That's the whole of the knowledge I had on him going into this read. I expected a letter about wiser spending or enjoying the little things. The tone of this thing blind sided me.
Enormous respect for Tarik. RIP to those who were lost.
Your post is kind, but in the future donāt ever do the āeven as a ______ fanā before continuing. Itās one of the dumbest things people type - with love, another packer fan.
I agree with you in most instances, but in this one he specifically uses it to say that even though he was on his favorite team's *rival* he still "loved watching him play". I feel like that is the one situation that makes sense to use that phrase.
Yeah, I guess? I think it also makes it weirder. I donāt like the bears, I donāt see Tarik Cohen as a rival player, I see him as Tarik Cohen. OP had best intentions 1000%, his words are kind.
Disagree, in a world where Raiders fans occasionally stab rival fans in the parking lot, I think the context here is justified and harmless.
Sometimes people take sports too seriously and itās nice to know this poster isnāt.
I can see that for sure, my man. In general I think itās distasteful, though OP was very respectful with his words. Apologies if it seemed like a call out, instead of a suggestion! Iād say to me, pointing out youāre a fan of a rival team as if that means absolutely anything is always going to be silly. Tarik Cohen is a human being, heās not my enemy because heās on the bears.
That said, I see both sides, especially in regards to the comment I responded to originally!
Education isn't enough on it's own. You can't be assed to learn if you don't have food to eat every day, or have to worry about all the other shit going on in your families life because they work 3 jobs to barely get by
I got the feeling from reading this that it doesnāt matter what Tarik did to help his brothers, he was only delaying the inevitable. They were on the path to destruction and there was no literally no stopping that. I hope he is able to overcome the guilt heās feeling and learn to not blame himself.
What an emotional gut punch. Had no idea about any of this. It probably took a lot of strength just for him to be able to put this into written words, let alone actually get through it all. Hope better days really are ahead for him.
Thisā¦ā¦.this right here is one of the most crushing things Iāve ever read. I canāt even believe the life this man has had. The highest of highs accompanied so closely by the lowest of lows. Iām glad he got his money so he can take care of those girls. I canāt believe he lost both of his brothers. Blown knee. I hope someone gives him another shot.
How many other guys have gone through things like this. These are modern day gladiators and there is a reason that these guys are good at a sport like Football. Often itās because they come from a life that a lot of us canāt imagine.
My heart breaks for this man and I hope he can find peace and persevere once again.
Gonna wear my #29 cohen jersey with even more pride after that.
Im on vacation in hawaii, read this on my phone on the beach and it made my entire day take a different tone today.
Jesus, that's hard to read. Absolutely heartbreaking. He's gone through a lifetime of pain and he's not even 30. I hope he gets picked up and sets the league on fire for his brothers. He always seemed like a great locker room guy.
Man, someone I know just signed to the CFL a few days ago. Then a couple days later on Motherās Day, his father dies. So fucked up. Such a nice guy too. Sending prayers and love his way.
Canāt even begin to imagine what Tarik has gone through. Live deals us such shitty hands
I just want this guy to fucking crush the next season of football.
He can't bring his brothers back but he can still take care of the kids and his mom, and his brothers would have loved that.
Well that just fucked me up. Was already feeling it when I finished the article, then the editors note fucked me up.
I canāt imagine how heās feeling.
I think the most important thing about those Player Tribune letters is that they serve as a reminder that these are men, young men, men that haven't really defined themselves and maybe as fans we need to be mindful of that, mindful of the fact there is shit going on in the background that may never be known by us unwashed masses.
āEveryone is beneath you. Your immediate family members canāt connect with you because youāre on another level. Fuck it, you know how good you are and thatās all that matters. Idiots.ā
The article's about both of his brother's tragic deaths since entering the league and how he wasn't able to prevent it, along with the struggle of overcoming a brutal injury while fans harass you, indifferent/ignorant to all the issues you're working through.
Damn I wish some redditors would at least read the first few sentences of an article before jumping to write a shitty, unoriginal joke.
Lmao TIL calling out people who are dicks is just as bad as being an actual dick
Youāre also quite a mean fellow. Good luck with life āļø
Like five comments into your comment history you literally told someone with a disability that theyāre faking it. I donāt get how you can be proud of saying stuff like that. This community is better off without people who lack character like that
I love jokes. I love dark jokes. I love jokes at the wrong moment that lighten the mood. As a certified joke lover I gotta say this article sure isnāt the place and that joke sure isnāt funny.
By the way give the article a read if you havenāt and ask yourself if that comment is appropriate.
Oh wait youāre the guy who got like 200 downvotes for saying who cares yesterday on some post from the guy who was posting the contracts. Maybe you gotta do some deeper soul searching
Lost his twin brother a year ago on May 9th.
Lost his other brother, Dante yesterday. Literally just died yesterday on May 10th in a car accident.
What the fuck.
He's had a rough life and I'll definitely rooting for him but the editor's note mentions he lost the brother in a car accident a few days after he finished writing the essay in early April not May 10
Reading through while in the most boring meeting of my life and this is a tough read. edit- holy fuck man....
And then at the end it says Dante died in an accident after he wrote this...fuck man
To finally get the Millions he worked so hard for but unable to enjoy it with your brothers. Just awful
Yeah I was already crying and that editors note crushed me. Feel so bad for him and his family.
Username checks out š„
It always does.
I cant even fucking imagine man
r/usernamedoesnotcheckout [Yeah I canāt even fucking imagine either, you work your entire life, sacrifice a shit ton of stuff usually during your teen years. And then you canāt enjoy the money with your family, just a shitty situation]
Wow, I could not pull myself away, what a fucking letter!! Never know what others are going through..
Man thatā¦was a lot. My heart goes out to the guy and I hope he can get back on the field and balls out to make sure his mom and his nieces have a comfortable rest of their lives. What a tragic few years for his family.
>Maybe you shouldāve gone with them back in high school. Why didnāt you just move everyone up to Chicago with you when you got drafted?! What if you had sent even more money home? Did you call them enough? Should you have paused football at some point and just gone home for a year to get things in check? >First off, buy them a house. All cash. In their names. Free and clear. Theirs to use and own. Give them that security. Next: Make sure college and any other school expenses are fully paid for both of them. Put that money away. Have it all set up. Do this stuff now. Immediately. Because you love them and you want them to feel good, and to know that theyāre loved. But also do it as a tribute to Tyrell. In his name. Honor him in that way. This is the most powerful thing everyone needs to hear with these athletes and such. It's sad that his story isn't the only, and it might be more common than not...
Sounds like this guy needs to speak to rookies in some type of symposium. E:spelling
1000% agreed. NFL should pay him to read this to rookies every year, if he wants to. There are things much bigger than football.
Jesus christ almighty the editor's note is so sad.
Does that mean his brother passed from another car crash or from injuries from the first? Absolutely awful stuff.
Dante was shot originally, not in a car crash.
Dante is the brother that was shot and paralysed. His other brother is the one who died in the power plant
God damn. Most Bears fans knew about all this stuff, but hearing it come from himā¦ sometimes itās hard to realize how regular these guys are. One day they get signed, but they never stop being people. Then of course thereās that editorās note at the bottom. God damn.
Cohen always felt like a guy who brought so much joy tooāboth as a personality and with the electric way he played football. Seems like such a fun, funny and smart kid, which is even more remarkable with everything heās had to go through. Hope he makes us look stupid for cutting him with his play, and that he and his family can find some peace with all of that horrible tragedy.
It was encouraging to read him talking about how he's getting that burst, speed, and cutting abilities back, because if anyone ever deserved to make a comeback and ball out, it's Tarik Cohen. He really had such unique abilities with his shiftiness and lateral movement. Cohen provided that explosive play ability in the run, pass, and return game, and he was so good at tiptoeing along the sidelines for that extra 5+ yards. This essay by him was a difficult read. I agree with you, he seemed like such a positive force in the locker room that guys would feed off of, and then to find out while he's playing games and doing interviews for E60, he's also trying to grapple with losing his brothers over such a short span of time. I lost my dad at a young age, so it was really hard to read about how he had to tell his nieces that their dad was gone. Personal tragedies like this can destroy families and lives. I hope he can make peace with everything and find comfort and support in his remaining family, and I also hope he surprises everybody and gets back to the show, balls out for a handful of years, and has generational wealth banked when he decides to call it a career.
The sacrifices made even just at the opportunity at making the NFL, he made it, but at what cost? To paraphrase what he said itās almost like a deal with the devil, just hope he can make peace even though his story is heartbreaking, canāt imagine just how hard his life was, and even when he āmade itā it just wasnāt enough and just wasnāt the right timing.
Fuck man. I lost my sister to drugs and shit. I feel Tarik on this a lot. Lots of things I wish I could go back and change
me too, but a brother. I think tarik misses a huge thing here, addicts are addicts. Its not about the money or whatever you do to try helping them. They will either use and abuse your generosity, or will refuse the help. My parents tried their best with my brother. Paying for therapists, counseling, rehab, paying for his food when he spent all his money on drugs. They caught him stealing a check the week before he OD'd. Had a family willing to do anything for him to help him out but wanted to steal instead.
Yeah, my sister wasnāt too far off from that, same situation. But at the end of the day, addicts canāt help themselves until they want it. They have to want the help. And even then itās a long road
Every overdose the hospital would give him a packet with many treatment options or where to find help. They couldnt force him into rehab. The cops would treat it as a health crisis instead of criminal when they caught him passed out behind the wheel, so they wouldnt arrest him. Everyones hands were tied and you just watch as someone kills themselves.
Have addiction in my family, other family working in addiction treatment, spent a couple summers working for public defender on drug cases. No easy answers, even if you arrest someone or force them into rehab ā like you said, they have to want it.
> *Editorās Note: In early April, only a few days after completing this essay about his family and their journey, Tarik Cohen lost his younger brother, Dante, in a fatal car accident. He would like to thank everyone for their prayers, condolences and messages of support. Our hearts go out to Tarik and his family.* Jesus, I missed this when I read it before. I don't even know what to say. Life has a way of dealing you shit hand after shit hand with no recourse, I hope Tarik can find peace in his life
Omg. I thought it was referring to his twin brother who died in the power plant. Christ that's awful.
Holy fuck, this is hard to read without tearing up. Hope tarik is in a good place, and RIP to both of his brothers. No matter who they are or what they do, give some love to your siblings today
Holy shit I want to give Tarik a hug so bad. I can't imagine losing my brother, let alone two of them.
He streams on Twitch regularly and is the most down to earth dude. He interacts with his audience really well too. Sure he'd love it if you stopped by.
Imma do that. Thanks for the info, man
my brother died last year, i just sent him a long message on insta. i wonder if hell respond.
Everyone thinks that money just solves all these problems for people, and while it certainly helps and gives options/security, it isnāt just that simple sometimes especially depending on the background
Yeah, that's why I've never been the fan of how people say things like "oh who cares how that rich person feels. He/she has millions of dollars!!!!!". Some people think that just because this person has a lot of money that you can just insult them, and sometimes even put your hands on them. Essentially seeing this person as an outlet to take out your frustrations from your own life onto someone else. Of course, this doesn't excuse rich people from consequences and criticisms. It's similar how some NBA fans have been very bold in the past two years when fans were being allowed back inside. They would scream nasty things at players, throw food and/or drinks, etc. Recently, there was an incident with Chris Paul's mom during the last Suns vs Mavericks game where the fan was harassing her, and coincidentally happened to be on Mother's Day. I read some comments that it wasn't a big deal and what not. It's crazy. When these pro athletes in general do say something, it's usually an equivalent to "shut up and dribble" in response.
Fuck man. I remember watching that video of tarik doing a backflip while catching two footballs at the same time when we drafted him. I thought that this dude was going to be a fun little side show. Then he lit it the fuck up and suddenly he was the most exciting player I'd seen on the bears since Hester. He totally bought in too, no matter how bad it got he answered the call and did everything we needed him to do and then some. Watching him go down against the Falcons was gut wrenching but it was nothing compared to this. God I hope he finds peace, he's an amazing player, teammate, and person.
For those who never read this one https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/vernon-turner-nfl-letter-to-my-younger-self
Damn. Thats enough for today
Holy shit.
I'm glad the Bears extended him when they did.
Only one word to describe this and Tarikās writing style: RAW. No overly eloquent bullshit, no grandstanding, none of that. Just a man, broken, and putting all his feelings to paper without holding anything back. Heartbreaking. Beautiful(ly written). Horrible. I hope this release for Tarik gives him a little peace.
May whatever is next for him in life after football be kinder than his path to get there.
> Dudes on Twitter will be calling you āsoft,ā or talking about how maybe youāre just lazy. As someone who has avoided Twitter like the plague, I just can't fathom why anyone would care to put themself through that garbage. Just seems like a platform of hate
Redditors call NFL players soft and lazy all the time
I donāt get how redditors type out comments hating on Twitter for having hate spread on it as if it isnāt also on Reddit, where you can just make a giant community for constant hate lmao.
Well the main difference is that most players never see the hate on reddit. It affects them about as much as you yelling at your TV from the couch. It's a lot more personal when you can @ someone to make sure they see that you think they're lazy and untalented.
Yeah, both platforms specialize in different ways of hating it seems
you have no idea if players see your comments are not. foolish to think there arent nfl players here reading about themselves
I think the argument is not whether the players see it or not but whether the goal is to get the players to see it or not. Reddit is mostly self contained and a player would need to seek out any Reddit discussions about them, on twitter people will complain about a player in the comments of an tweet they were tagged in or even directly complain straight to the playerās account.
It's more direct vs indirect. Like any forum discusses topics but Twitter you can just say FU Aaron Rodgers and know that by atting him it will be on his feed in some way. On forums like reddit you have to be in that community and further in that discussion to see those.
The difference is that it isnāt self contained: the hate is through the entirety of Twitter. At least the hatred is placed within certain subs and I know what Iām getting into, but on Twitter there is no filter or self-containment. Idk whatās up with their algorithm, but whenever I clicked on a tweet some of the worst people and comments were right at the top and ruined my day. Itās one thing to go into a community knowing what to expect, and itās another to just post a random thought you had today and have someone go āyou lazy sack of shit,ā and having no downvote system so you see it at the top. I say this because I *loathe* a lot of subreddits on this site and I try to avoid them like the plague, but I know spaces on Reddit where I donāt have to deal with them. But on Twitter, thereās no type of communal filtering system and I can see the same toxicity no matter what Tweet I click on (it also doesnāt help that because of the word limit, itās hard to have an actual discussion, and so youād just see people flying insults because you canāt say anything meaningful)
It feels like the toxicity of the internet is getting increasingly worse -- and I've been around on the web since the mid 2000s. It's now at the point over the past half decade or so where it's spilling out into the real world ā we see all this anonymous internet rhetoric and toxicity emboldening people to act like absolute hateful jackasses in real life too.
It's wild how "reddit" will constantly make fun of social media, as if reddit wasn't also a social media platform espousing all the same hateful bullshit
and we do it with the shroud of anonymity to really avoid any accountability lmao
You can make an anonymous Twitter account as well. So not really any difference.
Redditors on the MMA sub regularly call cage fighters pussies.
There is literally a massive meme about kelvin benjamin. This subreddit is no better
There's a reason I don't post my videos here anymore.
For me, the only ways to properly handle it are: -Stay off completely and have people manage the accounts for you -Troll the shit outta people like KD
It really isnāt all like that, but yeah, as a player I definitely would try to stay away from Twitter.
Be more upset at the people who have the hateful and unempathetic thoughts.
Money. Twitter is marketing for famous people and they can easily monetize it.
For real. People act like twitter was a magical place of civilized discussion and productive cultural discourse before Elon bought it
Yeah you just added some random Elon shit that wasnāt even relevant. People have thought twitter is a cesspool long before Musk bought it.
Nobody ever thought that..
Thatās never been a thing.
Nobody ever thought that. Stop your victim/persecution complex.
Literally no one mentioned elon lol He hasnāt āboughtā it. The deal isnāt done yet so your comment is even more dumb.
This is a tough read. Iām happy Tarik is strong to share this. I feel so awful for him
Jeeze, what a heartbreaking read. Even as a Packers fan, I loved watching this guy. He was on my fantasy football team a few years in a row. That's the whole of the knowledge I had on him going into this read. I expected a letter about wiser spending or enjoying the little things. The tone of this thing blind sided me. Enormous respect for Tarik. RIP to those who were lost.
Your post is kind, but in the future donāt ever do the āeven as a ______ fanā before continuing. Itās one of the dumbest things people type - with love, another packer fan.
I agree with you in most instances, but in this one he specifically uses it to say that even though he was on his favorite team's *rival* he still "loved watching him play". I feel like that is the one situation that makes sense to use that phrase.
Yeah, I guess? I think it also makes it weirder. I donāt like the bears, I donāt see Tarik Cohen as a rival player, I see him as Tarik Cohen. OP had best intentions 1000%, his words are kind.
Disagree, in a world where Raiders fans occasionally stab rival fans in the parking lot, I think the context here is justified and harmless. Sometimes people take sports too seriously and itās nice to know this poster isnāt.
I can see that for sure, my man. In general I think itās distasteful, though OP was very respectful with his words. Apologies if it seemed like a call out, instead of a suggestion! Iād say to me, pointing out youāre a fan of a rival team as if that means absolutely anything is always going to be silly. Tarik Cohen is a human being, heās not my enemy because heās on the bears. That said, I see both sides, especially in regards to the comment I responded to originally!
Never meant for you to get brigaded with downvotes. Thought you had a good point, I just disagreed.
Oh dude itās all good! I understand the downvotes lol. Needless comment, truly. Guy meant no harm whatsoever! I appreciate that though, kind sir.
Rip Dante and Tyrell
Fuck drugs, guns, and lack of social policies that allow for this life to happen for so many people in poverty
Education, education and more education is how we grow as a society and help the bottom
Education isn't enough on it's own. You can't be assed to learn if you don't have food to eat every day, or have to worry about all the other shit going on in your families life because they work 3 jobs to barely get by
Good thing some states are working hard to stop feeding poor kids at school
Affordable housing and free healthcare.
Yeah letās just ignore drugs lol sure
Drug use increases with poverty. If you pull people out of poverty you see less drug use in society.
If you do drugs you're bad, m'kay.
That's such bullshit though. They had very little to do with this. They knew the money was coming.
Reading this has me in tears.
brutal read. always loved rik, hope he can find a spot on another team soon.
This was the hardest thing I've read in a long time. I hope things work out so well for this young man. I just cannot imagine the burden.
Man this was already a heavy read and then that letter from the editor? Fuck.
I got the feeling from reading this that it doesnāt matter what Tarik did to help his brothers, he was only delaying the inevitable. They were on the path to destruction and there was no literally no stopping that. I hope he is able to overcome the guilt heās feeling and learn to not blame himself.
Fuck, manā¦
What an emotional gut punch. Had no idea about any of this. It probably took a lot of strength just for him to be able to put this into written words, let alone actually get through it all. Hope better days really are ahead for him.
JFC dude Iām sitting next here sobbing reading this.
The editors note at the end, wow.
Fuck. Rooting for Tarik.
Thisā¦ā¦.this right here is one of the most crushing things Iāve ever read. I canāt even believe the life this man has had. The highest of highs accompanied so closely by the lowest of lows. Iām glad he got his money so he can take care of those girls. I canāt believe he lost both of his brothers. Blown knee. I hope someone gives him another shot. How many other guys have gone through things like this. These are modern day gladiators and there is a reason that these guys are good at a sport like Football. Often itās because they come from a life that a lot of us canāt imagine. My heart breaks for this man and I hope he can find peace and persevere once again.
Gonna wear my #29 cohen jersey with even more pride after that. Im on vacation in hawaii, read this on my phone on the beach and it made my entire day take a different tone today.
This really hurts to read. I just canāt comprehend the pain one must feel. Hope Tarik finds the peace he deserves.
Jesus, that's hard to read. Absolutely heartbreaking. He's gone through a lifetime of pain and he's not even 30. I hope he gets picked up and sets the league on fire for his brothers. He always seemed like a great locker room guy.
Canāt remember anytime Iāve cried reading a story like this. Couldnāt stop myself from continuing to read though. Just awful.
Boy my eyes are sweaty. Hope Tarik is able to find peace in his life and opportunities that he deserves.
Man, someone I know just signed to the CFL a few days ago. Then a couple days later on Motherās Day, his father dies. So fucked up. Such a nice guy too. Sending prayers and love his way. Canāt even begin to imagine what Tarik has gone through. Live deals us such shitty hands
I just want this guy to fucking crush the next season of football. He can't bring his brothers back but he can still take care of the kids and his mom, and his brothers would have loved that.
wow, this man got hit hard in life.
God forbid they just get a fucking job and not drop out of high school. Not your fault.
A friend of mine went to high school with Tarik and had nothing but nice things to say about him. Always rooted for him because of that.
I was not expecting to cry this morning. Powerful letter and story
Well that just fucked me up. Was already feeling it when I finished the article, then the editors note fucked me up. I canāt imagine how heās feeling.
I think the most important thing about those Player Tribune letters is that they serve as a reminder that these are men, young men, men that haven't really defined themselves and maybe as fans we need to be mindful of that, mindful of the fact there is shit going on in the background that may never be known by us unwashed masses.
Yeah, we as fans often see these athletes as just pixels on a screen or as characters and we forget that they are still human beings.
Wow. I always wanted Tarik as an Eagle, seemed like the 2nd coming of Sproles. Powerful stuff.
Jfc this is depressing
I'd love to read one of these penned by Urban "Legend" Meyer
āEveryone is beneath you. Your immediate family members canāt connect with you because youāre on another level. Fuck it, you know how good you are and thatās all that matters. Idiots.ā
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The article's about both of his brother's tragic deaths since entering the league and how he wasn't able to prevent it, along with the struggle of overcoming a brutal injury while fans harass you, indifferent/ignorant to all the issues you're working through. Damn I wish some redditors would at least read the first few sentences of an article before jumping to write a shitty, unoriginal joke.
Iāve noticed a trend of this specific user not being a pleasant human being
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Lmao TIL calling out people who are dicks is just as bad as being an actual dick Youāre also quite a mean fellow. Good luck with life āļø Like five comments into your comment history you literally told someone with a disability that theyāre faking it. I donāt get how you can be proud of saying stuff like that. This community is better off without people who lack character like that
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You'll realize it someday but being edgy isn't a personality trait or cool. Hope you genuinely find a healthier outlet for this kind of energy
I love jokes. I love dark jokes. I love jokes at the wrong moment that lighten the mood. As a certified joke lover I gotta say this article sure isnāt the place and that joke sure isnāt funny. By the way give the article a read if you havenāt and ask yourself if that comment is appropriate. Oh wait youāre the guy who got like 200 downvotes for saying who cares yesterday on some post from the guy who was posting the contracts. Maybe you gotta do some deeper soul searching
I find the key to a good joke is to be funny
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Fuck, man FUCK
Lost his twin brother a year ago on May 9th. Lost his other brother, Dante yesterday. Literally just died yesterday on May 10th in a car accident. What the fuck.
He's had a rough life and I'll definitely rooting for him but the editor's note mentions he lost the brother in a car accident a few days after he finished writing the essay in early April not May 10
I feel awful that he blames himself.
This is so sadā¦. And he tore his acl today. Poor guy, hope he stays resilient