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WOW: RIP Rashaan Salaam (funeral service on Fri 12-9)

Another tragic reminder that we need to get much better at meeting peoples mental health needs.

Rashaan will be greatly missed by those who were fortunate enough to know him and by many who weren't.

Sadly we have far to many others who we lose in a similar fashion who are also greatly missed but who are not famous enough to merit media attention. We have to find a way to reach more of these people and help them through.

Maybe somehow losing Rashaan will in some way move us towards preventing the same tragedy from happening to some other family and friends.
 
I had a good friend kill himself when we were 16. It was the day that the Broncos had the miracle comeback against the Oilers in the 1991 playoffs. Can't think or be reminded of that game without thinking of him.

I say good friend because we spent a lot of time together and I thought I knew him well, but of course, after his passing, I felt like I didn't know him at all. As a typical know it all teenager, I decided that it was a selfish act and that the appropriate reaction was not only to be mad at him but to express that anger to others.

As I've gotten older, I have realized just how wrong I was, and am ashamed of my previous behavior. I've gone through some dark times myself, and while I've never been so far down as that, I can understand now that those who do are going through a private hell that skews their thoughts and their beliefs.

It is never for us to judge those who find themselves at that crossroads, only to hope that we can help those who do.
 
Clinical depression isn't well understood or easy to explain. My wife and son both suffer from the disease.

Help is out there but it takes hard work and support to stay ahead of the sinister feelings that lurk in the shadows. People can slip through cracks. It doesn't take much to start a spiral. That's when tragedy can happen.
 
Heard Ted Johnson interviewed on 760 on the way home. He was really good. He ended the interview discussing how difficult the transition from football to civilian life is for a lot of guys. He said that some guys are awkward in public because they don't know how to interact. He also said people don't know how to interact with former athletes and that, sometimes, family are the worst.
 
i have to admit, after the shock and reality of it have sent it, that this makes incredibly sad-- i've teared-up a couple of times. tj's interview on espn got me pretty bad. the reporter was trying to goad him into salacious details but he just wanted to talk about the goodness of salaam's life. damn.

plati's article was pretty good too-- focused on the person.

these things are so ****ing hard for everyone left behind. i wish he could have gotten help -- i know there were so many people who loved him and would have done everything they could do to help him.

rashaan delivered some of our greatest memories as Buff fans. the pure joy of it, and the honest way he delivered that joy... that contributes to the hurting on this.

people talk about their favorite moments... i remember being back on campus for a game and this was well before rashaan had ever played in a game but i heard the rumblings and whispers about how damned good he could be. and he was. hell, he caused a nfl quality back, lamont warren, to declare early for the draft even though he was thought to be the returning starting rb. warren played like 8 or 9 years in the league.

some folks want to say he was an nfl bust, but i don't agree and frankly it doesn't matter. he was one of the greatest college running backs who ever played. i wish some of our younger fans had seen him. his performance against texas was one of the greatest individual games ever. and he seemed so humble about it all. so level-headed. so friendly. so focused on his teammates.

RIP, man. i am so sorry you didn't get the help you needed. i hope you are in a better place and know how much you were beloved, by people who knew you personally and a whole bunch of us who didn't.
 
CUBUFF80 said:
Reading the posts and the sentiments about seeking help are all on target. However, if he was dealing with CTE, that changes everything. If he sustained brain swelling due to repeated blows to the head while he was playing, he was not himself. He was probably dealing with dementia and other ailments that robbed him of his ability to act in a rational manner.
Click to expand...

If he was dealing with CTE, he was not the person people remember. I do hope his family donates his brain for research on CTE. It might give them some comfort to find out it was CTE and there was probably nothing they could have done to save him.
 
Lots of wonderful recognition of Rashaan the person.

I was a nothing teenager in the glory of awkwardness that one has at such an age. Somehow, I was thrust into a situation where I was randomly surrounded by CU football players for a few hours during the summer of 1994. To say I was intimidated would be a gross understatement. One of those massive human beings was Rashaan. I knew him by name but he was not yet the star he would become as he had shared carries with Lamont Warren the previous year. He took it upon himself to engage me directly, and I talked to him for the better part of 45 minutes. I won't go into details, but I left that conversation feeling more sure of myself as an athlete, a football player and more normal for going through the awkwardness that I was. The possibilities of my future and my dreams as an athlete seemed more real than ever.....as far fetched as they might have seemed to any outsider. Following that conversation, I witnessed Rahsaan go on his historic Heisman Trophy run, and I felt extremely privledged to have had the wisdom of a HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER bestowed upon me. It set a foundation of belief within me to think I was really capable of achieving something if I worked hard enough. I did work, and I had an opportunity to play a lot of places, but the decision was easy. I have said this before, but everything good that is in my life today can directly or indirectly be attributed to my time at the Univerity of Colorado. I believe that would not have happened had Rashaan Salaam not taken it upon himself to genuinely engage some scrawny, random teenage kid.

Thank you Rashaan. RIP Brother.
 
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Bill Cody said:
Lots of wonderful recognition of Rashaan the person.

I was a nothing teenager in the glory of awkwardness that one has at such an age. Somehow, I was thrust into a situation where I was randomly surrounded by CU football players for a few hours during the summer of 1994. To say I was intimidated would be a gross understatement. One of those massive human beings was Rashaan. I knew him by name but he was not yet the star he would become as he had shared carries with Lamont Warren the previous year. He took it upon myself to engage me directly, and I talked to him for the better part of 45 minutes. I won't go into details, but I left that conversation feeling more sure of myself as an athlete, a football player and more normal for going through the awkwardness that I was. The possibilities of my future and my dreams as an athlete seemed more real than ever.....as far fetched as they might have seemed to any outsider. Following that conversation, I witnessed Rahsaan go on his historic Heisman Trophy run, and I felt extremely privledged to have had the wisdom of a HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER bestowed upon me. It set a foundation of belief within me to think I was really capable of achieving something if I worked hard enough. I did work, and I had an opportunity to play a lot of places, but the decision was easy. I have said this before, but everything good that is in my life today can directly or indirectly be attributed to my time at the Univerity of Colorado. I believe that would not have happened had Rashaan Salaam not taken it upon himself to genuinely engage some scrawny, random teenage kid.

Thank you Rashaan. RIP Brother.
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The greatest legacy we can leave in life is if we have a positive impact on others.
 
This is really hard on me. Most don't understand, but I looked up to Salaam growing up. I got my picture taken with him and the Heisman, I served him and the '94 team dessert at the team hotel before the NE Louisiana game. The entire '94 team signed a CU white polo shirt for me which I still have hanging in my man cave. I still have my 2,000 sign that Rashaan signed for me. I rushed the field in '94 after the ISU game with great joy of Rashaans 2,000 yd game only to be saddened by Mac's announcement a few minutes later.
I am in shock. I love you Rashaan, you are a true Buff and thanks for the memories!
 
Bill Cody said:
Lots of wonderful recognition of Rashaan the person.

I was a nothing teenager in the glory of awkwardness that one has at such an age. Somehow, I was thrust into a situation where I was randomly surrounded by CU football players for a few hours during the summer of 1994. To say I was intimidated would be a gross understatement. One of those massive human beings was Rashaan. I knew him by name but he was not yet the star he would become as he had shared carries with Lamont Warren the previous year. He took it upon myself to engage me directly, and I talked to him for the better part of 45 minutes. I won't go into details, but I left that conversation feeling more sure of myself as an athlete, a football player and more normal for going through the awkwardness that I was. The possibilities of my future and my dreams as an athlete seemed more real than ever.....as far fetched as they might have seemed to any outsider. Following that conversation, I witnessed Rahsaan go on his historic Heisman Trophy run, and I felt extremely privledged to have had the wisdom of a HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER bestowed upon me. It set a foundation of belief within me to think I was really capable of achieving something if I worked hard enough. I did work, and I had an opportunity to play a lot of places, but the decision was easy. I have said this before, but everything good that is in my life today can directly or indirectly be attributed to my time at the Univerity of Colorado. I believe that would not have happened had Rashaan Salaam not taken it upon himself to genuinely engage some scrawny, random teenage kid.

Thank you Rashaan. RIP Brother.
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Nice post.
 
Sure wish I could've met him, it was a pleasure to watch him play ball. Heard he was a good guy many times, sucks it had to come to this. God Bless him and his family.
 
There's a palace a fallin'
There's a smoke in the sky
There's a boy running downhill to the lowlands tonight
And he's catching the train to where he's heard you have been
He's a fool now among us, a dreamer within
Dreaming of you
And on that day there was snowfall in the street, yellow light
And they cleared the bill and rails just by those dark shimmer eyes
In that land there's a winter
In that winter's a day
In that day there's a moment when it all goes your way
And you know it's a lion's heart
That will tumble and tear apart
When he's coming down the hills for you
But can you still now remember who's been hiding up there?
Through his howling at twilight all his songs of despair?
Do you remember the caller of a black and white crime?
Well he lives by that memory and falls from his mind
And you know it's a lion's heart
That will tumble and tear apart
When he's coming down the hills for you
Well he'll walk in the city forever
Oh, walk in a time to be gone
Well there's no real goodbye if you mean it
So I guess I'm forever alone
Now he's a stranger among us, he will die in the park
Where he hides from the statues and the weather remarks
In that land there's a winter
In that winter's a day
In that day there's a moment when it all goes away
And you know it's a lion's heart
That will tumble and tear apart
When it's coming down the hills for you
 
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BOULDER - The funeral service for former Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam has been set for Friday, Dec. 9. The service will be held at the Islamic Center of Boulder, which is located at 5495 Baseline Road. The public is welcome to attend.

The service will begin at noon, but all those planning to attend are asked to arrive no later than 11:45 a.m. to be seated before the service begins.

Following the service, the public is welcome to follow the funeral procession to Mountain View Memorial Park, located at 3016 Kalmia Ave in Boulder.

http://www.cubuffs.com/news/2016/12/8/salaam-services.aspx
 
I wish I was in Boulder to pay my respects on Saturday. Rashaan was a great guy, and meant a lot to a lot of people. Of all the terrible conditions in this world, mental illness has to be the most tragic. R.I.P. Rashaan.
 
darth-horax said:
Have they said HOW he passed exactly? We know it was suicide, but how?
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one article said a gun was found nearby.

I've had two people ask me if I heard whether he shot himself in the head or in the heart. I didn't understand the implications of the questions at the time, but have since done some research and read about Seau. Don't know if anyone here has a credible source on that point, though.
 
Buffnik said:
Yes in almost every way. My only reservation is that he didn't seem to want that level of attention and may have hated that. With blessings of his mom, it would be appropriate.
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Great point wrt his mom. It would seem RG is a master of these kinds of things. Assuming that's a joint parent/AD decision, is there anything allbuffs can do to promote that idea or is it better to let things take a natural course?
 
Jens1893 said:
I hate the speculation after a person dies unexpectedly. We have no right to know everything.
Click to expand...

I agree, but in one way, there is the line of thought, however morbid, that however Rashaan's life ended, if his brain was left intact, there can be some evidence of CTE found.

I don't know if that is really any of our business either, but it would serve two purposes - to provide at least a partial answer as to why this happened, and, if his brain were to be donated to study, more answers might be found about CTE.
 
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