Darling’s dream alive
The first day of the NFL draft this spring should have been a purely joyous one for Devard Darling. His mother, Wendy Hunter, wanted to turn April 24 into a celebration, a testament to both his achievement and to the obstacles he’d overcome. Friends and family gathered at a cousin’s house, just down the street from Hunter’s, in Sugar Land, Texas.
But Darling, the Washington State University product, was nowhere to be found.
“It was getting a little intense,” Darling said. “I just had to get away. I had to get a peace of mind, so I went to my brother’s grave and I just sat there. I just sat there in silence, just to calm myself down. It’s just what I had to do.”
The Baltimore Ravens chose Devard in the third round of the draft, putting him one step closer to his dream of playing in the NFL. But it wasn’t just his dream; it was also Devaughn’s, a dream they’d discussed endlessly as they tossed footballs in their backyard.
“There are so many situations that are bittersweet for me,” Darling said. “My twin brother is not here, he’s not physically with me. He’s here spiritually, and I know that, and I feel him every day.”
Devaughn Darling collapsed and died of an apparent cardiac arrhythmia during an off-season workout at Florida State in February 2001. He was 18, a soon-to-be sophomore linebacker for the Seminoles. Devard was pushing himself through the same workout, a series of sprints and agility drills, when his brother died.
No definitive cause of death was listed on the autopsy report, though the sickle-shaped red blood cells that were diffused throughout Devaughn’s body were noted as a possible contributing cause. A 300-page report by the Florida State police cleared the university of wrongdoing.
Devaughn’s family felt differently. The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university in October 2002, claiming that Devaughn was deprived of water and other fluids during conditioning drills. Last month, a judge in Tallahassee approved a $2 million settlement between Florida State and the Darling family.
There was never any question whether Devard Darling would continue to play football. He had to; it was what he and his brother loved best.
“Twin loss is such a profound, enduring loss,” said Nancy Segal, a psychology professor at Cal State-Fullerton and the author of “Entwined Lives,” a comprehensive book about twins. “Many identical twins try to keep their twin alive by pursuing the things they did together. Playing football is (Darling’s) way of keeping his brother alive.”
Devard and Devaughn participated in all kinds of sports — track, basketball, swimming — as children in the Bahamas. The twins were 12 when they moved to the Houston area with their mother and two sisters and finally got their chance to play organized football. They became so good that they had their choice of top colleges. Devaughn, a linebacker who doted on his slightly older brother, let Devard decide which school the twins would attend. Devard chose Florida State.
After Devaughn’s death, Florida State officials said the school would honor Devard’s scholarship, but it would not clear him to play football because he had the same sickle-cell trait as his brother. So he searched for another school that would allow him to play, undergoing countless medical exams along the way. He wound up at Washington State, where he started 26 games and caught 104 passes for 1,630 yards and 18 touchdowns in two years. Darling declared for the NFL draft after his junior season.
Darling, 22, will resume working toward his dream of playing in the NFL on Thursday, when the Ravens report for training camp.
When receivers coach David Shaw watched film of the 6-foot-1, 213-pound Darling, he said he saw “somebody that has the ability to be a complete receiver. That’s one of the hardest things to be in the NFL, somebody that can do some of everything.”
General Manager Ozzie Newsome was impressed with something other than Darling’s physical skills.
“I would have to say that Devard Darling is in the top three or four guys I’ve ever interviewed as a college draft choice,” Newsome said. “He was very impressive when he sat in that seat: his demeanor, the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, his convictions about doing things for his brother.”