FIU players lean on each other as they mourn loss of Luke Knox
MIAMI - Florida International University football players went back to practice today following the sudden passing of one of their teammates, linebacker Luke Knox.
The 22-year-old was hospitalized Wednesday evening and passed away during the night. Now, the Panther's Head Coach, Mike MacIntyre is speaking about the tragic loss for the first time.
He says the players miss their friend and teammate, Luke. Yesterday, instead of practicing, the guys spent time together, talking about their memories with Luke and how much of an asset he was to the team. FIU Panthers players are leaning on each other as they mourn the loss of Knox.
"Luke is a really caring person, easy-going, comfortable to be around - you can joke with him you can be around him, that's the kind of guy Luke was," says MacIntyre.
Knox, who played at Ole Miss before coming to FIU is also the brother of Buffalo Bills tight end, Dawson Knox. The Bills tweeting, "We're heartbroken to hear of the sudden passing of Luke Knox, sending all of our thoughts, prayers and support to the Knox family during this difficult time.
MacIntyre says he shared a special bond with Knox.
"We miss Luke dearly. I've coached him at Ole Miss, known him for a while. So, getting him here was exciting. That's a young man that I love and cherish, and I love his parents, grandparents, and everybody," he says.
MacIntyre says they have a psychologist on site available to their players and staff. He says they're giving players the option to practice and today several players decided to sit it out.
"There's no perfect formula but you love the kids, you're with them and I've told every one of them and our coaches have reiterated it, everyone grieves differently so you don't know when it's going to hit you," says MacIntyre.
Coaches are expecting the grieving process to continue on into the season. They say the most important thing is being there for one another, which is something the players are already doing.
"They always pray as a team afterward and they prayed for Luke and Luke's family and then we usually break it down to FIU and today they said let's break it down to Luke and I thought that was fitting," says MacIntyre.
He says coaches will be sitting down with the players to talk about how they want Luke to be remembered within FIU's football team.