Louisiana

Ronnie Caldwell death: Louisiana university cancels football season after player shot, killed

Published

11 months ago

November 2, 2023

Ronnie Caldwell death: Louisiana university cancels football season after player shot, killed

HOUSTON — A Louisiana university has canceled its football season, after a player was shot and killed earlier this month.

When mold was discovered in the off-campus apartment of Northwestern State University football player Ronnie Caldwell Jr., he was moved to a different unit.

But, according to his family, Caldwell’s new roommate was a non-university student. Attorneys for the family say that roommate pulled a gun on Caldwell, who reported the incident to his father. Despite assurances that Caldwell would be moved to a safer spot, he was shot and killed three days later.

On Saturday, Houston Christian University’s football team was slated to play a conference game at Northwestern State in Louisiana. But less than a week ago, Northwestern State’s season was canceled, and the team’s head coach resigned.

This Friday, on the eve of that scheduled game against HCU, Houston-based attorneys told ABC Houston affiliate KTRK they plan to file a lawsuit seeking damages. The attorneys claim the university, an apartment complex, and former Northwestern State head football Coach Brad Laird failed to protect Caldwell.

In their first local TV sit-down interview, Houston-based attorneys working on behalf of Caldwell’s family say the student-athlete’s shooting death could have been prevented.

“They sent him away to school in order to get an education,” Jonathan Cox of The Cox Pradia Law Firm said. “As his mom said, ‘You expect your son to come back better,’ but he never came back.”

After the Northwestern State football team managed to play one game in the wake of Caldwell’s death, last week Laird resigned – citing the emotional burden from Caldwell’s death, and the remainder of the season was canceled. The university’s president said the team’s final four games were scrapped to preserve the well-being of those in the program.

“They say we didn’t get an opportunity to finish the season – so it looks like we quit,” Ke’Nard King shared via Zoom. “I feel like the coaches were really making the decision based on us – to make sure we were safe.”

After siding with the coaches’ decision to cancel his junior season, King then explained what it’s been like losing a teammate and then losing his season.

Bears fire RB coach David Walker over workplace behavior, source confirms

“It’s an unimaginable feeling,” King admitted. “You wake up the next day, and everything you know has changed. Things up here will never be the same: recruitment, anything. Nothing will ever be the same, because you’ll always think about the thought of a football player getting killed.”

Caldwell was a football player and a son. His mother, Blanche Bradley, spoke to KTRK via phone from work.

“I’m on a playground with my students because I have to still support my household,” Bradley explained. “Inside, I keep screaming, ‘Why, Lord? Why nobody listened to my son? Why didn’t you keep these kids safe? What were you doing to bring children to convince parents you were going to take care of their children?’”

Houstonian Andrea Odom of The Odom Group is handling PR for the Caldwell family. As the mother of former University of Texas standout student-athlete Dylan Campbell, she says this case is personal and professional.

“Blanche made one thing very clear: She wants to make sure that athletes are safe,” Odom said. “We are bonded as mothers. For me, you send your kid away to college knowing that you have to trust these coaches. They’re going to do what they say they’re going to do, and they’re going to have the best interest of your children at heart. To hear the pain in Blanche’s voice is heart-wrenching.”

Now, local attorneys say their impending lawsuit is the beginning of a journey to justice for the Caldwell family.

“No one should die in pursuit of an education, and essentially that’s what happened here with Ronnie,” Helen Daniel Holman of Daniel | Williams & Associates added.

Two individuals, including Caldwell’s roommate, have been arrested on charges unrelated to his murder. KTRK spoke with Natchitoches, Louisiana police on Wednesday, and they said it’s still an active, ongoing homicide investigation.

Source link

Click to comment

Louisiana

San Diego firefighters hospitalized while responding to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts

Published

5 hours ago

October 1, 2024

Press Room

San Diego firefighters hospitalized while responding to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts

SAN DIEGO (KGTV)— Three members of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 8 are in the hospital in Louisiana after getting into a crash while responding to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast, leaving behind unimaginable death and destruction from Florida to North Carolina. Monday, President Biden addressed the tragedy and the firefighters severely injured in a crash on their way to help.

“They were in a terrible car accident in Louisiana. We pray for their full recovery, but it was a bad accident,” said the president.

The accident happened just before three am Sunday in a remote area near the Texas Louisiana Border. Three San Diego Fire-Rescue Department crew members were seriously injured. They include a battalion chief and two captains. They were in a Ford 350 that was involved in a crash with an 18-wheeler. It’s unclear what caused the crash. The victims were airlifted to Louisiana State University in Shreveport.

Back in San Diego, the non-profit Firefighter Aid is ready to help.

“It’s hard on the department. The firefighters are very close. Their department is very close. They are with each other everyday and have each other’s back, so when one bad thing happens to somebody, they feel it throughout,” said Sara Berns, Executive Director of Firefighter Aid.

ABC 10News was there Friday evening when members of California Task Force 8 loaded up into eighteen vehicles and headed east for North Carolina. The type III Water Rescue team includes thirty-two firefighters from San Diego’s Fire Rescue and firefighters from departments across the county.

Batallion Chief Aide Barbat talked about their past experience right before they left Friday evening.

“The team has deployed to many hurricanes. Katrina was probably the biggest even after that multiple hurricanes,” said Chief Barbat.

The task force has helped with search and rescue efforts during disasters as far back as Sept. 11. This is the first time members have been involved in a serious accident. The department has not released their names.

Source link

Louisiana

Louisiana high school football computer rankings (9/30/2024)

Published

13 hours ago

September 30, 2024

Press Room

Louisiana high school football computer rankings (9/30/2024)

We are four weeks into the 2024 Louisiana high school football season and High School on SI is rolling out its updated computer rankings for the best teams in the state.

SBLive’s formula was created using its own linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm in order to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.

Which teams took the top spot in each LHSAA classification this week? Here are SBLive’s latest Louisiana high school football computer rankings, as of September 30, 2024:

LOUISIANA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMPUTER RANKINGS

LHSAA CLASS 5A | LHSAA CLASS 4A

LHSAA CLASS 3A | LHSAA CLASS 2A

LHSAA CLASS 1A

INDEPENDENT/PROBATION

To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app:

Download iPhone App | Download Android App

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before.

For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

Source link

Louisiana

Nexus Louisiana announces a partner for the BizTech Challenge

Published

21 hours ago

September 30, 2024

Press Room

Nexus Louisiana is partnering with Black Ambition, the initiative founded by Pharrell Williams for its 2024 BizTech Challenge.

The collaboration aims to amplify the competition’s impact. The BizTech Challenge, now in its ninth year, was designed to increase innovation and entrepreneurship in STEM-based fields among students attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

As part of the partnership, Black Ambition will provide business mentors for participants throughout the competition and provide a judge for the final-round live pitch competition.

The organization will also offer priority access for up to 10 competition participants into its 2025 HBCU Pre-Accelerator Program, which culminates in a $200,000 virtual pitch competition.

“Black Ambition is dedicated to removing barriers and creating equitable pathways to success for underrepresented entrepreneurs, especially HBCU students and recent alums,” Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Black Ambition, said in a statement. “The BizTech Challenge provides a tremendous opportunity for the next generation of HBCU innovators to showcase their brilliance, and we’re excited to support their journey in partnership with Nexus Louisiana.”

Hatcher was one of the keynote speakers at NexusLA’s BREW event in May.

The BizTech Challenge will take place during the Bayou Classic weekend on Nov. 29 at the Westin New Orleans.

Since its inception in 2020, Black Ambition has trained approximately 1,000 founders and awarded nearly $10 million in growth capital to 101 founders.

Source link