“It’s tough to talk about even all these months later, but after your little brother Marlo passed away in December…. Daddy was ready to call it quits. Not just football, either. I’m talking just get away from … everything. Leave the country. Move to Spain. Hunker down. Just us and Mommy. That sort of thing. Never talk to anyone ever again, never have to face anyone or discuss anything, just shield us all from the entire outside world. You know what I mean? We were all just struggling so much.”
Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones shared these thoughts as part of a letter to his children via The Players’ Tribune this morning.
Jones would go on to share how he and his wife, Mya, tried to help their children understand this “unimaginable tragedy” while struggling with their own feelings/emotions behind closed doors.
But Jones would eventually start opening those doors.
“Matthew and Kelly Stafford. Danny Amendola. Kenny Golladay. Coach (Matt) Patricia. Coach (Ron) Prince. Other members of the organization. All showing us love. Giving us support. Letting us know that they were there for us. I mean, you guys … it was so moving what they did for our family.”
Those were important moments for Jones, and they changed him.
“And as tough as those first few days were, I always want you guys to remember how our family and friends came together to lift us up and help us all get through the most difficult experience of our lives.”
Jones would go on to remind his children that at their core, people are inherently good.
“The other big point to remember — and this is maybe the most important thing of all in terms of your lives going forward — is that the good people in this world outnumber the bad by a wide margin. Those who are kindhearted and eager to lend a hand … those folks are everywhere.”
Moving forward became the theme over the second half of his letter.
He would discuss how Mya is setting up a foundation “that will help other families who have gone through what we all experienced over the past year — a place for sharing stories, and where families can lend support to one another.”
And he wrapped up his heartfelt piece with even more positive news: “And last, but certainly not least, I just want to say that Mommy and me are so excited for you guys to meet the newest member of our family… And now, when your baby sister arrives in February, you guys can know that she is here because of Marlo, and because of what he meant to you guys. What he still means to all of us.”
Make some time in your day to read the entire letter from Marvin Jones Jr. — and bring some tissues.