By Sam Reeves

Have you ever had to grieve for any reason? Most, if not all of us have, in some shape or form. Grief is not something anyone wants to deal with or remember exists. We want to go on with our lives and forget that anything bad can ever happen. Grief waits for nobody; it will hit you when you aren’t ready, and it affects everyone differently. The reason I am writing about grief today is because of the deaths that have impacted the sporting world over the last few months and the situations they unfortunately create for those who are affected by the losses.

In August of 2024 two brothers, Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, were struck by a car, driven by a drunk driver, while riding their bikes in New Jersey. It took the hockey world by storm, given the high regard in which the Gaudreau name was held for being incredible people. Johnny Gaudreau was a star in the league, while his brother Matthew was trying to break his way into the NHL. Not only were they gearing up for the hockey season, they were also riding their bikes for exercise before they were going to get ready for their sister’s wedding. An absolutely horrible tragedy endured by the Gaudreau family on what should’ve been a magical day for them.

The absolute heart-stopping news that had to be delivered to the family at that time cannot be put into words. I won’t even try to understand the feeling of something so horrible. This is what the article is trying to help people understand. These athletes are public figures, and their lives are never as private as they’d like them to be. For this family, having to endure the loss of two sons, fathers, and brothers on the day of a wedding and then having to try to move on has to be devastating.

You can have all the support systems in place to try to help you get through the grieving process, but it can still bury you under its weight. Their teammates, coaches, trainers, and front office staff also feel their absence. These players are expected to just pick themselves up and play their sport. You never see them get to be human; they are too in the spotlight to really show their grief. The world moves on, and they are swept up in that fact. We, as fans and people, need to understand that these athletes are all humans and are no different than us.

Just eight days ago, the mother of professional golfer Tiger Woods, Kultida Woods, passed away unexpectedly on the morning of February 4th. Tiger Woods himself announced the news publicly on all his social media channels. Tiger Woods, one of the most successful athletes of all time, has now lost both of his parents, with his father, Earl Woods, having passed away in 2006. Again, because of the spotlight that a big-name athlete like Woods is in, there isn’t much time to grieve privately.

The grieving process is especially difficult as Tiger Woods is set to host an event at Torrey Pines this weekend, the Genesis Invitational. Tiger himself had posted that he was going to tee it up at the event, then just a few days later, posted a message that he has withdrawn as he still needs time to grieve the passing of his beloved mother. We have all gone to work while still grieving, but nothing to the extremes of hosting one of the top golf events of the season, while also having to take interviews left and right for the media.

As stated previously, these athletes and sports celebrities are human and need the time to get through situations like the rest of us. Unfortunately, due to their many business endeavors, it is not always possible for them to get that grace. You’d hope they have people they can trust within the business world to handle things while they take their time. This is not an opportunity for the media to speculate and ask questions about very personal matters to get a story. This is real life and a very tough time.

One of the more complex situations to grieve in currently sits with the first family of the Chicago Bears, the McCaskey family. They lost the matriarch and principal owner of the Chicago Bears, Virginia Halas McCaskey, on February 6th, 2025. Virginia did a lot in the communities she frequented and was very respected around the game of football. Being the daughter of the founder of the NFL, while also being a very good human, as all accounts go, is no easy feat. Her passing now leaves the Chicago Bears in a situation where grieving is not easy.

With the passing of an owner of any team, things get very tricky. The Chicago Bears are a mostly family-run organization, so while her children and grandchildren grieve her loss, they also need to deal with the business aspect of things. All the outside pressure to sell the team, build a new stadium, and try to build a winner while dealing with the loss of a family member can’t be an easy thing to do. There will be many media outlets trying to speculate on what will happen, how the shares get divided, etc.

There was open visitation at the wake of Virginia McCaskey, which fans were able to come and pay their respects. I truly hope nobody put the family in an awkward position by asking about the team’s future. Virginia McCaskey was officially buried today, at the time of this writing. The family needs time to grieve before business can resume. As this is the end of the league year, the pressure is on to look ahead. It is unfair to expect that from the McCaskey family at this time. There are a lot of steps to take before any of this speculation is appropriate, and I hope the general public comes to understand that.

While I haven’t seen or heard any negativity toward any of the grieving families I have listed today, I felt it was a nice time to break down how dehumanizing fame seems to make us feel about people. Remember that everyone is human; well, maybe not everyone, but I am not going to expand on the shitheads in D.C. at this time. I truly hope these grieving families find closure for their lost loved ones and get the privacy they deserve.

Thank you for reading.