Kare11
What grief support may look like following Vikings player’s death
A psychologist for the nation’s largest sports leagues highlights how one teammate’s death can affect an entire organization.
MINNEAPOLIS — As the community awaits answers in the early Saturday morning crash that killed Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and 2 others in Maryland, players are trying to process the sudden loss.
The 24-year-old remained on the Vikings Roster Monday. Although he was a rookie, players got to know him at Organized Team Activities earlier in the offseason.
“I’m just looking forward to making my impact out here,” Jackson said in an online video posted in late April. “I’m just looking forward to, you know, making Vikings Nation proud.”
Sports psychologist Dr. T.M. Mosley understands it may be hard to hear his voice or see his face. Many things can trigger grief, she says.
“It often happens in ways that we sometimes can’t anticipate,” Mosley said. “It becomes more real the closer you get to returning to the field or returning to work so to speak, which is why in thinking about grief it really does ebb and flow. There are going to be days that are going to be really difficult and hard to manage and we don’t know what that timeline is going to look like.”
Based in Minneapolis, Mosley is founder of the Playbook and has provided support for all major sports leagues, including the NFL.
“What I love about sports is we have this baked-in belongingness because we are a team, we’re a cohesive unit,” she said. “So when there is a significant loss of some sort, it’s felt across an entire organization.”
She says that includes everyone from office workers to athletes and medics.
The Vikings start the 2024 Training Camp in just a couple of weeks.
“We’re both grieving and mourning the loss and preparing for an extremely high performance season, and so having to manage both of those things and not choosing one or the other, which the Vikings have been masterful with doing that over the years unfortunately with other crises and trauma,” Mosley said.
Mosley says if she were consulting for the Vikings right now, she would offer three areas of advice. First, to provide the opportunity for professional support such as individual and group counseling sessions. Secondly, she says players, coaches and staff members would benefit from reaching out to one another to check-in, whether by email, text or voice memo. Finally, she says the sports team or community could help out with things like providing meals to take some stress off the plate.
“So, how do we come in and co-create an environment that gives people the tools and resources they need to take it one day at a time, to take care of themselves while also recognizing there is no timeline for grief, but there are some things we can do to put them in the ecosystem so people feel supported and they feel cared for,” Mosley said. “Grief has this way of shattering us and also shaping us.”
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
Vikings fans were ecstatic to see their team beat the New York Jets.
FRIDLEY, Minn. — Vikings fans packed Forgotten Star Brewery early Sunday morning to watch the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets game in London.
Hundreds of people were at the Fridley brewery to watch the game on a 15-foot screen at 8:30 a.m. Hodgepodge food truck was also there serving up brunch specials for fans to have with a pint of beer.
“We were up at 4:30 this morning, ready to go, getting our gameday gear ready,” said Luke Drake. Luke got there at 6 a.m. with his wife Nicole to make sure they got a prime spot.
“Before we were together, I was a Vikings fan and not like a super crazy Vikings fan. [Now] we’re up like a 5, 6 a.m., on Sundays, and it’s like we’re ready to go, we’re in front of the TV and we’re ready for the game to start,” Nicole said.
If you can’t tell by Shannon Russell’s purple hair, she bleeds purple and gold.
“I just love football,” she said.
Russell didn’t grow up in a sports family and came across the Vikings by chance when she was 10 years old.
“I was just up watching cartoons one morning and saw the Vikings playing and not understanding what it was, and I just fell in love with it,” Russell said.
Her favorite player is No. 22.
“I love watching Harrison Smtih while he comes up and he’s like ‘Am I going to rush, I don’t know’ and then he just bails out and I love watching that,” she said.
Liz Johnson was also up early with her two kids, Henry and Alice.
“I like football. I like watching. I enjoy the surprises that come with it. I like Forgotten Star, so it’s a perfect place to be, snacks, food,” Henry said.
“It’s pretty cool because you can see the TVs over there, over there, you can look behind you and see it over there, and you can look right there and see it a giant screen,” Alice said.
Alice got creative to pass some of the time, making art with her hands.
“I’m making bracelets,” she said. “So, first you take the first one, twist it and put it around your fingers.”
Even though the kids were up early, the Johnsons wouldn’t have it any other way to watch their hometown town leave London with a win.
Police said the 7-year-old victim was skateboarding on Saturday night.
Read the original article
The road closure is expected to last until about 11:30 p.m. tonight, according to MnDOT.
MINNETONKA, Minn. — Officials have closed the westbound lanes of US Highway 12 starting at I-494 in Minnetonka after a collision occurred on Saturday night.
According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s 511 Map, the road is closed and there was a “serious crash,” on the highway.
The road closure is expected to last until about 11:30 p.m. tonight, according to MnDOT.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Biden sends more troops to North Carolina for continued Hurricane Helene response
Scene along Twin Cities Marathon: Bananas, Alan Page, pickle juice
Rep. Mike Turner says all “candidates need to deescalate” after Trump assassination attempts
Biden sends more troops to North Carolina for continued Hurricane Helene response
Scene along Twin Cities Marathon: Bananas, Alan Page, pickle juice