Darian Hagan hosts third DeVaughn Levy-Hagan Memorial basketball game in honor of son's life
Former Buffaloes quarterback Darian Hagan hosted the third DeVaughn Levy-Hagan Memorial basketball game over the weekend at the CU Events Center on the University of Colorado campus in Boulder. The event was created to bring awareness to mental health and suicide prevention.
"It takes a village to raise a community of people," said Hagan.
Inspired by his own loss, Hagan created the nonfprofit Buna's Village with Nyasha Levy to honor their son. DeVaughn "Buna" Levy-Hagan died by suicide at 19 years old in 2010.
"We want to make sure we honor our son who committed suicide and it's a way of involving the community and it's all about mental health and suicide prevention," said Hagan.
Through Buna's Village, Hagan is paying it forward.
"A lot of these kids have never been to boulder and we can show them what a big university looks like. We did an interactive presentation of mental health and suicide prevention, we talked about a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and those guys learned a lot," said Hagan.
The goal is giving kids an opportunity to have a safe place through their nonprofit, providing academic support and mental health options.
"You know some kids were like 'I am not very good at school, I am not very good at basketball' and we made them change that mindset then they realized that self-talk is huge," said Hagan.
Several Buffs who also lost their lives to suicide, including Charles Johnson, Rashaan Salaam and Drew Wahlroos were also honored at the event.
"I think it's important to get people in a comfortable position to where they can get out and talk to anyone who can help them thrive," said Hagan.
The event kicked off with a lunch and an athletic tour, an interactive presentation and the charity basketball game.
