Rajaan Bennett Murdered
Seriously this makes me sick, sounds like he was a great kid with a hell of a football future. Rivals 250 list, all the accolades on the field and in the classroom just sad
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2010/02/18/rajaan-bennetts-death-hard-t…
February 18th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
RIP Rajaan. Not the same circumstances, but I remember a few years back a highly touted LB recruit who had signed with USC went on a recruiting visit out there and drowned in the ocean. It is strange to think of what might have been when some of these kids are taken so young.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:26 AM ^
paywall but rivals' Vandy writers go a little bit more in depth about him and the situation
http://vanderbilt.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1053621
February 18th, 2010 at 10:47 AM ^
Such a travesty, especially since Mr. Bennett would have undoubtedly done well whether he chose to succeed on the field or off.
Murder-suicide? I can't figure out what makes someone so self-absorbed as to take their own life, let alone to take someone - especially someone with such promise - down with them.
Rest in peace.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
I can't figure out what makes someone so self-absorbed as to take their own lifeThough some do it for selfish reasons, most are generally not self-absorbed.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
That story literally ruined my day. I don't know why, but it hurt me more than any of the other tragedies we've had recently--McNair, the guy from UConn (Jasper Howard?), others I cannot remember. High school is too soon to die in such a way. My heart goes out to his family, his high school team, and Vandy. A horrible thing to have happen. It makes all the other things we talk about in sports seem pretty trite.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
...is the USC kid you're thinking of.
Benji Wilson was the #1 basketball player in the class of...84? I think? He and Nick Anderson played on the same high school team and were supposed to go to Illinois together.
Two punk*** kids decided to roll up on him and his girlfriend while they were taking a walk and shot him.
Horrifying.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:10 PM ^
Wilson's death still pisses me off. I worked in Chicago at the time and it affected the entire city. As a HS junior, Wilson already had the game and the "smooth" that Jamal Wilkes had as a college senior. It is always a tragedy when a young person dies, but it seems even worse when it is someone who is doing the right things and "has a future."
I would really hate to be a young person in this era; they have risks that I really can't fully comprehend.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:00 AM ^
To think this kid was just a few months away from starting a new life. From what it sounds like, it wasn't the best of areas, but he was so close to beginning a new life. Heartbreaking.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
My condolences to his family, community and Vandy. It sounded like he was a great person with a lot of potential; he had his head on straight. This kind of stuff makes no sense and it never will.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:01 AM ^
That is terribly, terribly depressing. Worst of all, the murderer was his mother's ex-boyfriend. I hate to think what she's going through, wondering if in some roundabout way she caused her son's death by shacking up with the wrong guy for a while.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:10 AM ^
This is terrible. Weird thing is this is not the first time it has happened to Vandy football program recently. Kwane Doster was murdered back in 2004 while visiting his hometown of Tampa over the winter break. Sad end for such young people.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:27 AM ^
There are no words that can describe the loss of this kid. I mean this is just so sad and so wrong.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:59 PM ^
It puts life into perspective. It also leaves most people at a loss as to how things like this take place. It is a tragedy when anyone dies or is killed, but when it is people with a long life ahead of them, it makes it all the more difficult to understand.