Purify's Tough Year Continues
6 comments so far
October 2, 2007 by
In a year when he has already seen his football future put in jeopardy and his brother killed, Maurice Purify has suffered another personal tragedy. Purify's girlfriend Reia Shapiro was killed in a car accident in California this weekend. Faced with this latest loss, Purify's status for NU's game against Missouri this weekend is in doubt.
Player First
While BRN seeks to be primarily about football, let's all take a minute to consider Purify as a person. Pray for him and for Shaprio's family, if that's your custom. Send them your best thoughts. Few things are sadder than when a young person dies. And, it has been a tough, tough year for this young man. I'm sure his coaches and teammates are doing what they can to help in a situation that has nothing to do with football.
About Football
Turning to the topic of football, it is obvious that NU would be hurt by Purify not playing on Saturday. He's second on the team in catches, even with having missed one game. And, he's clearly the most challenging match up among NU's wide receiving corps. The Huskers would miss him.
The eternal optimist in me still somehow believes that Purify could play, and play well, on Saturday. First, football is the most important thing going in this kid's life. It is his best shot for success. Maybe his only shot. He knows that better than anyone, I suppose. A big part of this kid’s heart will want to be on the field with his team.
About his performance, it is a stretch to think it won't suffer some. But, bear with me on this. There is a chance (albeit small) that getting between the lines can be a refuge for this young person, a place where he has at least some control. That control - the normalcy of the game - can be a bastion to him, and allow him to perform. It happens more than you might think.
Of course, that requires a lot of mental maturity. It's one thing for professionals like Brett Favre and Frank Gore to do it, another thing for a college kid. The odds are better that he will be an emotional and distracted player - for very good reason - whose productivity will be hurt.
We're going to learn a lot about Mo this year, and especially this week. I can only call on fans to rally around this young man, like the players and coaches surely are, and hope for the best.
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Tyler Oct 02 07
Keep your chin up Mo. It might sound selfish, but I hope you got out and play a tribute game like Favre/Gore did. You can bring honor to your girlfriend, your family, and yourself. In the meantime, I hope the team rallies around him; I'm sure they will.
rj Oct 02 07
We are praying for you Mo! This guy has been to "heck" and back...some of his own doing yes, but this is another tough chapter for this young man. Perhaps, Husker Nation can put aside our petty differences and finger pointing to rally around one of our own. Go Big Red!
ze Oct 02 07
This is just unbelievable! Those sorts of things rarely happen to a person in a lifetime let alone in the span of a few months. My sympathies go out to Mo.
AustinHusker Oct 02 07
I am sure most of us cant imagine going through something like this. Do you guys at BRN know of an email address or the like, that we could send our thoughts and condolences directly to Mo? It might be nice for him to see true Husker support in his inbox.
Thanks
OU7times Oct 02 07
Darren, I respect your opinion but this is a situation where football just has to take a back seat. This might even be an article that might be better as a "thought" or a "hope" rather than spoken. In other words, how can one think of football at a time like this? What might be considered an "honor game" might come across to some people as selfishness or inconsiderate. Football won't always be there to "escape" to for this young man when times get tough. He'll likely just have to deal with it as harsh as that may sound. Just an opinion, friend.
yolonda johnson Oct 09 07
hi mo I was one of reia's really great friends yolonda and i am out here in tennessee alone, and was here when i heard the news. This is one of the worse things that could happen to an athlete no doubt. You know she wouldnt want to to give up on anything and to tell you to keep your head up and be strong. Its not easy, i know, be strong. we fall down, but we shall get up, and that is what makes us stronger. Good Luck to you, family, and football i will keep you in my prayers