Idaho Plane Collision: Trail Blazers’ Jusuf Nurkic Heartbroken Over Deaths of Golfer Sean Fredrickson and His Children

Pro golfer Sean Fredrickson and his three children died in a plane crash in Idaho on Sunday, and the news made one NBA player very emotional. Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic saw the news of Fredrickson and took to Twitter to share his thoughts. Nurkic didn’t want to believe it was real, writing he was hoping it was “not true.”

Unfortunately for Nurkic, Fredrickson’s wife April confirmed the news of Fredrickson and the children’s deaths on KPTV. “My family died while they were on an adventure,” April said. She also said everyone was excited to be on the plane, and “they died doing what they loved, which was, you know, being together.” On Monday, PGA emailed a statement to the members of the Pacific Northwest PGA Section.

“Sean was an incredible father, husband, PGA Professional, mentor, and leader,” the email stated. “There are never words to communicate the pain of such a loss. Whether through prayer or quiet reflection, please hold Sean and his family in your hearts.” The email continued: “Our thoughts are also with the staff and members at Oswego Lake Country Club who he served this past year and those at Tualatin Country Club whom he served for 14 years. You are our friends and we share your loss.”

The accident occurred when two planes collied over Coeur d’Alene Lake. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s confirmed there was a total of eight victims with six being in Fredrickson’s plane, which was a Brooks Seaplane. The other plane, a Cessna, was carrying two passengers. Their names have been identified, however, their names are being withheld until their next of kin are notified.

Stephens was a well-respected PGA member in the Pacific Northwest community. In the PGA’s statement on Fredrickson, it stated mentoring was big for him because it was something he loved to do. It was one of the reasons he became President of the PGA Northwest Section. “It’s about waking up every morning and knowing that I have the best job in the world and am one of 1200 hard-working individuals dedicated to promoting the game of golf,” he said back in 2016.

Fredrickson was an Oregon native, which is one of the reasons the loss hit hard for Nurkic. The 25-year-old Trail Blazers center joined the team in 2017 after spending time with the Denver Nuggets where he was named to the All-Rookie team in 2015.