Johannesburg - The black hole that has been left by the death of three South African athletes in the space of a week may never be filled.
A car accident, a murder and the inherent risk of boxing have snuffed out the lives of two young men and a woman, one after a proud and magnificent career, the other at the peak of his powers and the other making her way on to the professional arena.
Their passing was marked around the country in services, a start to the healing, to helping to bridge, somehow in some small way, the loss.
Making sense of the death of the young and fit is the hardest thing. Old age and illness can soften the blow of a passing, but when there is so much still to be offered then their absence hits like a hammer blow.
The St Louis Cardinals have had to deal with a trio of losses since 2002, the baseball franchise losing players during or just after the season.
On Sunday, outfielder Oscar Taveras died in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. In June 2002, 33-year-old Darryl Kile, passed away as a result of a coronary artery blockage in his Chicago hotel. Pitcher Josh Hancock died in a car accident in 2007.
“That’s something unfortunately we’ve gotten all too used to,” pitcher Adam Wainwright told the St Louis Post-Dispatch, “with all the crazy things that have happened in the last 13 years.
“Tony La Russa, who was manager in both 2002 and 2007, made it a point that he and his staff would get as close as possible to the players on a personal level after the Kile death,” wrote Rick Hummel on Tuesday.
“‘It’s just the realization,’ said La Russa, ‘that part of the baseball family includes a definite professional side but also just as important is the personal side and family relationships.
‘Therefore when you have a tragedy involving a member of your family, you have to be aware and sensitive and respectful. And it’s not anything that needs reminding. It happens naturally. If you’re sensitive and respectful, your instincts will tell you what kind of support you should provide,’ said La Russa, who admitted he, at first, had been ‘overwhelmed’ by the death of Kile.”
“For a couple of days, you’re asking yourself, ‘Why am I standing out here? A family just lost a father (Kile) and a husband’,” said Jim Edmonds, who played for the 2002 team. “For a while, you can’t see straight. That was hard for us.”
It will be hard for South Africans to come to terms with the loss of the three who have departed. For a while, we won’t be able to see straight.
Grief will turn to anger and then blame and then grief again. The loss will lessen over time, but it will remain to be felt for years to come.
The Star