For a guy as passionate about the sport of football as Thomas Davis, being away from the game for four weeks while serving an NFL-mandated suspension for a performance enhancing drug violation, is hard enough. But having to experience family tragedies in the process added a level of pain he’d never thought he’d have to face.
Saturday, Davis will bury his father, Ulysses, who passed away 4 days ago from a heart attack. Holding back tears while talking to reporters, Thomas mentioned how much his dad meant to him and how he will remember the good times they shared.
“Whenever you not only have a father, but lose him, it really makes you reflect and think about all the good times that you’ve had. And you try to remember those. I’m pretty sure things will probably be extremely difficult Saturday, but right now seeing him in the situation he was in for a whole month and coming to grips that he wasn’t really getting any better, you start to feel like you can no longer be selfish and want him to keep staying in that position.”
Davis revealed Wednesday that his mother also had to have two emergency surgeries during the four-week span. For him, not being around the team and to be able to get their support made life especially hard.
But “The Mayor of Charlotte” is back – not only happy to be with his football family, but happy to have the reprieve that the game he loves so much provides.
“To be able to go out there and practice, it kinda takes you away from the things you have going on in your life and some of the things you have to deal with on a daily basis. So, it definitely felt good to be back out there.”