‘It’s just wrong’

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This article was published 29/09/2022 (1073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Rasheed Bailey has walked off the field at Roxborough High School in his hometown of Philadelphia many times.

A group of teenage boys from the junior varsity football team were making that same walk after a scrimmage on Tuesday afternoon, only to be ambushed by gunmen who were waiting in a SUV parked nearby.

The four or five shooters got out of the vehicle and fired more than 60 gunshots, killing 14-year-old Nicholas Elizalde. Three other players were wounded. The apparent intended target was a 17-year-old who was walking with the players but does not go to Roxborough. The 17-year-old was chased down and hit in the arm and leg. One of the shooters stood over him and attempted to empty their gun, only to be out of bullets, or have the gun jam.

As of Thursday evening, there were no suspects in custody. Philadelphia officials have released surveillance video of the shooting and are offering a US$40,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“This game saved me. That field that one of those kids lost their life leaving, that field saved me. I’m not here without it, so, I felt that connection to it. I just pray that those families can heal from all this and move on from this, but it’s gonna be tough for a lot of people,” Bailey told the Free Press after Thursday’s walk-through at IG Field.

“A 14-year-old lost his life. I got a sister that’s 14 years old. I can’t imagine losing her. I can’t imagine losing my other sisters. You don’t even get a chance to really fully experience life. That’s just wrong, man. It hurts my feelings and it breaks my heart. And I hope we can do something about it.”

Unfortunately, gun violence isn’t anything new to Bailey, a 29-year-old in his third season in Winnipeg, or his community. Bailey was raised in public housing and when he was a senior at Roxborough in 2011, his childhood best friend and classmate Rashawn Anderson, a basketball star at the school, was shot in the head while walking in his apartment complex and killed.

“Immediately I felt that feeling from when I was a kid in high school, all those feelings that I felt when somebody got killed and coming back to school the next day. You’d go to school in fear, you go to school thinking, ‘That could’ve been anybody. That could’ve been my brother, could’ve been my mom.’ You know what I’m saying? Those things happen in our neighbourhoods,” said Bailey.

“When you’re in those situations and in those neighbourhoods, it’s all about the choices that you make. Sometimes just going left instead of going right may be the best decision for you at that time. No matter what people may think about you or how it may look, it all comes down to a choice. And I’m here because I made some of the right choices.”

Bailey is hoping his choices and his story can help guide some kids in his area down a better path. This week’s tragedy motivates Bailey, who already goes to schools and football teams as a motivational speaker, even more so to be a positive role model.

“Philadelphia is a place where there’s a lot of love but there’s a lot of hate, too. There’s a lot going on right now with the homicide rate and there’s a lot of kids killing kids,” Bailey said.

“When you decide to take somebody’s life, not only are you taking their life, but you’re taking your own as well. I think these kids need to understand and know that. My job is to continue to do what I do and show them that there’s more out there. I think that’s the thing that I battled as a kid growing up. You grow up in these neighbourhoods and you think this is it. You think that way of life is the only thing that you have until you step out of that.”

Bailey will suit up against the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders Friday night and plans to honour the victims on his uniform. He’ll be playing with a heavy heart, but he’s determined to have a strong performance for his friends, loved ones, and everyone else back home.

“We just got to continue doing things to help these kids find direction and find a place. These are kids doing things to other kids over something that’s so minor. We just got to keep doing our job as older people, as people who have walked that walk before for them, so that they know that they’re not alone. There’s much more to this world than they think there is. I think it’s important for me to keep showing that.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

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