Bentlee Sanders' Heartbreaking Loss Motivates Nevada's Push For Suicide Awareness

On his left arm, Bentlee Sanders has a tattoo that reads, “Life isn’t without end. Love is.” The Nevada Wolf Pack cornerback is aware of that higher than most.

Throughout his freshman season of highschool, Sanders’ greatest supporter, his older sister Elese, died of suicide. Two years after that, Sanders’ cousin, Eric, who was one in all his finest buddies, died in a automobile crash. And two years after that, his grandmother, Nancy, who Sanders calls his greatest motivation, additionally handed away. It was a trio of losses that has reshaped Sanders’ life.

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“It sucks to say it, but it surely’s like you may’t even cry anymore,” Sanders advised Nevada Sports activities Web. “You’ve simply bought to roll with the punches. Life sucks generally, and also you simply bought to roll with it. They’re up there watching us.”

In the course of the Wolf Pack’s house opener towards Idaho State on Saturday, the crew will put on a ribbon decal on its helmet to honor Sanders’ sister as a part of September’s nationwide suicide consciousness week. That call was made throughout Nevada’s fall camp when Sanders opened as much as the crew about his life story.

“The again of the helmet will say, ‘You aren’t alone,’” Nevada head coach Jay Norvell stated. “We want to acknowledge nationwide suicide consciousness month for people who find themselves struggling. I am unable to inform you as a head coach what number of children have sat in my workplace and talked about pondering of taking their life. It’s totally humbling. Lots of people are struggling on the market, and we simply need them to know they’re not alone.”

Shedding his sister had a huge effect on Sanders. She was his greatest soccer fan and the one who believed in him essentially the most. He couldn’t eat, couldn’t focus after her loss of life. He questioned if there was one thing he may have finished to alter her thoughts. He distanced himself from others, soccer being his refuge till he tore a knee ligament a number of months later, which value him his sophomore season of highschool. After the back-to-back blows of dropping a member of the family and the game that consumed his id, he felt like giving up. One of many causes he didn’t was his grandmother.

“Once I was little, we was once within the pool,” Sanders stated of his grandma. “We’d act prefer it was the final second of the sport and she or he would throw me the ball and I might catch it for a landing. We had season tickets to the (Tampa Bay) Bucs video games. We had a particular bond as a result of we each cherished the sport of soccer. And it sucks that she by no means bought to see me play a recreation in school, however I do know she’s watching me from upstairs.”

Sanders’ “Life isn’t without end. Love is” tattoo the sits beside a set of praying arms is devoted to his grandmother. On his proper entice, he has a tattoo of his cousin’s loss of life date. On his left entice, he has a tattoo of his sister’s loss of life date.

“I put it near my coronary heart as a result of we have been actual shut,” he stated.

Sanders’ life story is tattooed on his physique, together with his hometown of Tampa and the state of Florida on his again. Sanders’ school profession started in Tampa the place he performed for the College of South Florida for 4 seasons, serving as a key defensive again and return man for the Bulls whereas making 15 begins. He graduated with a level in built-in public relations and promoting final fall, and with two years of school eligibility remaining, he set out on a brand new journey on the opposite aspect of the nation.

Sanders put his identify within the switch portal and instantly drew curiosity from Nevada, which made him a prime precedence. Born and raised in Tampa, Sanders was intrigued by a contemporary begin on the West Coast. He knew it’d be a problem shifting removed from house and away from his household, however he believed that may be one of the best transfer for his private {and professional} development.

“I wanted to get out of there,” Sanders stated of leaving Tampa. “It was a distraction. I stated, ‘Let’s attempt one thing new on the West Coast.’ And proper after I entered the switch portal, (then-Nevada assistant) Coach (Freddie) Banks was hitting me instantly, 100% curiosity on me. We have been speaking a bit bit, and proper earlier than I used to be going to commit I bought a textual content from TCU saying, ‘Hey, would you thoughts ready a bit bit earlier than committing?’ In my head, I used to be, like, ‘I am not making an attempt to be somebody’s second possibility, and Nevada was on me from the leap.’”

Sanders stated his favourite factor about residing in Reno has been his teammates. Throughout Nevada’s fall camp, which needed to be relocated to Stanford for 2 weeks as a result of poor air high quality in Reno, the Wolf Pack gamers spent nights collectively enjoying dominoes and playing cards and buying and selling tales on the lodge. Sanders opened up about his previous, and it resonated along with his teammates, which led to the choice to put on the suicide consciousness ribbon this week. It helped construct the bond between himself and his new teammates.

“This implies rather a lot to me as a result of Bentlee is a extremely good teammate,” fellow Nevada defensive again JoJuan Claiborne stated. “I truly roomed with him final week through the (Cal) recreation. He’s a extremely good dude. I simply assume total psychological well being of males specifically wants extra focus. A whole lot of instances as a soccer participant you get advised to ‘Suck it up.’ It is a cool factor that we’re doing to convey psychological well being into the sport of sports activities. With Bentlee, I positively realize it means rather a lot to him.”

Added Norvell: “I am actually completely happy that we are able to do that and acknowledge this group and simply convey consciousness to it. So many individuals are struggling, and it is so unhappy to listen to when folks really feel like they’re alone and so they’re going by issues on their very own. The worst factor on the planet that you can assume is that you are the just one going by it and that you’ve got no person to speak to.”

Sanders stated the adversity he confronted throughout his youth has made him a stronger particular person and participant. Listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 kilos, Sanders is undersized for an FBS starter for a cornerback. However he’s compensated with a scarcity of dimension along with his mentality. His teammates and the Wolf Pack coaches affectionately name him a “canine” for his aggressiveness and physicality on the sphere.

“It’s a thoughts factor, a psychological factor,” Sanders stated. “In case your psychological is there, you understand you’re the highest canine, you won’t be the largest particular person, however you’ve coronary heart, no person can actually cease you. That’s how I am going concerning the recreation.”

Sanders made his Nevada debut in a 22-17 season-opening win at Cal final week, incomes the beginning at nickel cornerback. He had six tackles because the Wolf Pack protection locked down the Bears after permitting back-to-back landing drives to open the sport by yielding simply three factors on Cal’s last three possessions.

Sanders appears like he’s discovered a house at Nevada, a spot the place he can shine on the sphere and be valued as an individual off it. Given all he’s misplaced in life, he’s out to realize one thing really feel have thought can be doable — a roster spot within the NFL.

“Life may be brief, however soccer is my life at this level, so I simply take it with an actual ardour and I put 110 p.c into the sport,” Sanders stated. “I am going to verify I make it to the NFL. That is my purpose, that’s my plan. It has been my plan since I used to be a bit child.”

Columnist Chris Murray gives perception on Northern Nevada sports activities. Contact him at [email protected] or comply with him on Twitter at @ByChrisMurray.

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