Rival school honors fallen San Jose State football player with moment of silence
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose State University community is still reeling from the death of a freshman football player who was hit and killed by a school bus.
But support for the team, and the school, is also coming from a surprising place, rivals at the school which the team was supposed to play just one day after the tragedy.
Freshman player Camdan McWright was killed just hours before the team was set to travel to New Mexico State University for that school’s homecoming weekend where the football game would have been the marquee event. Not only did New Mexico State agree to postpone the game it also held a moment of silence in McWright’s honor during its homecoming events.
Eighteen-year-old Camdan McWright was killed by a school bus on Friday morning as he was riding his electric scooter to the football complex to work out. The running back had just made the traveling squad, and he was going to be heading with the team to New Mexico later that day. But when San Jose State requested postponement of the game New Mexico State agreed, but NMSU did continue with some other homecoming events.
"It was odd – all day just felt off. You could tell there was just a somber mood in the air," said Jon Opiela who is with New Mexico State’s athletic department. Opiela said despite the two teams being fierce competitors they also do share a love of the game and also the bond of collegiate athletics.
He said the loss of McWright was also felt very personally by the entire New Mexico State community.
"Even on Saturday when we were at the stadium it was a real somber environment with all of our guys as we have a really fun, loose, team it was just one of those – you could tell that everybody was still hurting." Opiela said.
Back in San Jose McWright’s teammates and other members of the university community held a vigil for him on Friday night where the sorrow was shared.
"He came to be one of the people I respected the most in our freshman class just because of how hard he worked," said one of McWright’s teammates.
That same respect was also felt more than 900 miles away in Las Cruces, New Mexico, when the entire New Mexico State Aggies stadium held a moment of silence for Camdan McWright.
"It was eerily quiet. Like I got goosebumps on the back just standing there and looking around and seeing everybody just embracing that moment of silence and just reflecting on the very short life of that student athlete," Opiela said.
The California Highway Patrol, which investigates all occupied school bus accidents no matter where there occur, is still investigating this accident and a spokesperson said it could be a month or more before a final report is issued.