George Atkinson.Photo: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
George Atkinson III, a former football player at Notre Dame and in theNFL, has died at age 27,multiple outlets report.
The Athletic‘s Pete Sampson tweeted thenewslate Monday night. No cause of death has yet been reported.
George played college football until 2013 before transitioning to the NFL, where he played professionally for the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns.
George Atkinson III, 2016.Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“That’s the moment I felt like I lost everything. That’s the moment I can’t describe,” he wrote of losing his brother. “I never want you to feel his pain or my pain.”
Grappling with that pain at the time and processing his family tragedies, George said he looked for the “why” in his life — what drove him to work hard and persevere every day. He said his 2-year-old daughter was his motivator.
George Atkinson III and Josh Atkinson, 2009.MediaNews Group/Contra Costa Times via Getty Images
“I knew I had to find a way to keep going and be a role model for her,” he wrote. “Without my daughter, I don’t know where I would be right now. She gave me that second wind of motivation.”
Writing that he met with a psychologist and learned to open up about his feelings, George said he knew “the holidays this year won’t be easy” but that he was “trying to take life one day at a time.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
