Grief counselors were at two Fulton County high schools Monday, helping students deal with the news of the sudden death of a popular football player.
De’Antre Turman, an 11th grader and cornerback for the Seminoles at Creekside High, died after being injured in a scrimmage Friday night.
Turman, 16, died of a broken neck at Grady Memorial Hospital. He was rushed to the hospital after being hurt on the Banneker High School field in College Park.
Counselors were at both Creekside in Fairburn and Banneker on Monday and will be available if students and staff need them through the week, said Samantha Evans, school system spokeswoman.
At Creekside, principal Ronald Maxwell said members of the football team and cheerleading squad, as well as their parents, came together Sunday for about an hour to discuss what happened.
On Monday morning, the school auditorium and media center were set up for students and faculty to meet with grief counselors, Maxwell said.
“We had a turnout,” the principal said. “They are children, and how they deal with their emotions varies.”
A ceremony will be planned to retire Turman’s jersey, Maxwell said. Other events are expected to be planned as well, sometime after the teen’s funeral on Saturday, he said.
Maxwell said he had emails from a number of students on Saturday, with ideas for ways for the school to pay tribute to the student known as “Tre-Tre.” Several hundred people turned out Sunday night for a vigil in his honor at Ben Hill Recreation Center.
Turman was one of the state’s top prospects for the Class of 2015. Many colleges had planned on evaluating him this season.
He received his first major-college scholarship offer in June from Kentucky.
Johnny T. White, Creekside’s head coach from 2009 to 2011, said Turman was quiet, but always smiling and respectful.
“It was always yes sir, no sir,” White said. “He enjoyed his team, and he loved his teammates.”
