On June 2, 2016, a terrible tragedy occurred that led to the death of a Vanderbilt baseball team athlete. His friend and teammate Chandler Day decided to tell us what really transpired. It came after a two-year silence. He wrote a separate article on The Athlete’s Guide in which he detailed the events of that time.
Remembering Everett, the former baseball pitcher mentions almost a year-long struggle with himself and denial of what occurred. Another member of the team, Rayan Johnson, experienced similar feelings. In a separate column for The Tennessean, he talked about his “depression and struggles with anxiety.
The baseball player said important words, “I tell the story, not to heal my wounds. But to honor the man and the impact he had on the lives of others!”
Chandler Tried to Help
On June 2, 2016, a company of friends and part-time members of the team Vanderbilt visited Lake Normandy for recreation and fishing. The next day the next stage of the regional tournament was to be held and the men were mentally preparing.
Eyewitnesses said, that at one point the friends decided to get to the other side of the lake. All but Everett used the bridge. And Everett decided to get by swimming. In the middle of the body of water, the men heard a cry for help but thought the baseball player was joking and pranking them.
Later police reports revealed that one of the men present did jump into the water and tried to save the man. It is now known that it was Chandler who did this.
After another shout, he jumped into the water and swam in the direction of the drowning man. But as he approached, it became clear that he had been pranked and no one needed help. To the laughter of his friends, the angry fellow began to swim back.
In the middle of the way he turned around to yell for Everett, but he was nowhere to be seen. Day said, that no one understood where their friend had gone and everything seemed unreal. But Everett’s body was found hours later, 25 feet deep and only 15 feet from shore.
What Chandler Meant to Say
The basic moral of the story is the need to memorize the dead no matter how hard it may be to go on living. Remember the good moments and take as an example the best qualities of people.
As the athlete said, “As long as you can live another morning, your job is to have a positive impact on everyone around you!