The brother of Washington Football Team defensive lineman Montez Sweat was shot and killed in Virginia on Tuesday, according to PEOPLE. Anthony Sweat, 27, was shot in Henrico County and pronounced dead on the scene. Details of the shooting were not released as of Thursday morning. Washington head coach Ron Rivera spoke about the situation on Wednesday.
“It is rough, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families,” Rivera told Richmond.com. “We try to make sure that players understand that we’re here for them. We do have a team psychologist and she’s available, as well as myself [and the other coaches]. … We’re there for them.”
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This is the second tragedy to hit Washington within a week. On Dec. 23, safety Deshazor Everett was involved in a single-car crash that killed his girlfriend, Olivia Peters. Everett is one of the captains on the team and has since been released from the hospital.
“It’s definitely been challenging for us all,” Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin said when asked about the issues the team has faced all year, per ESPN. “You don’t know what people are going through on a personal level outside this building. We’re all human and we’re all going through things much bigger than football.”
“I mean, every single room has been affected by something, whether it’s COVID, injuries, anything,” Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke said. “So as a team, we’ve all leaned on each other and try to get through it with each other. Obviously, the captains have done a great job of keeping the ship sailing, but I think overall as a team, we’ve done a good job of leaning on each other.” Washington has lost the lost three games including a 56-14 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. They need to win the next two games to have a shot at the playoffs.
Montez Sweat, 25, was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He had a strong rookie season, recording 50 tackles, seven sacks and two forced fumbles. He improved on those numbers in 2020, tallying 45 tackles, nine sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception that was returned for a touchdown. So far this season, Sweat has posted 24 tackles, five sacks and three fumbles through 10 games.
