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Grieving teen leans on his team
By JON WILSON, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- On 14th Avenue S, in front of the place where Olajuwon Simmons used to live, someone has chalked foot-high letters: R.I.P. Jeannette. "She died," affirms a young man, motioning toward the house. Olajuwon, he says, is his cousin. He might be by on his bike a little later. Olajuwon, 15, had to move a week ago a few miles north to Woodlawn. But the neighborhood where he lived much of his life still has pull. His old house, locked now, has a paper angel taped on the front window. A front-room wall is filled with photos of him in his football uniform. His mom, Jeannette Williams, had put them up. Now a football team has become Olajuwon's second family. A week ago today, a heart attack killed Mrs. Williams at age 44, and for the second time in eight months, Olajuwon's life patterns changed like a kaleidoscope's pieces clicking in and out. His father, Ralph Simmons, died at age 81 in February after a battle with emphysema. The freelance mechanic met Olajuwon's mother late in life. The couple often fished together, their children say, bringing home snapper, mullet and bream from Fort De Soto Park, the Sunshine Skyway or the bayous around Coquina Key. Mrs. Williams owned the house, but there wasn't a lot of money to go around. She had health problems and no job. Olajuwon's 23-year-old sister, Laquinda Roundtree, said their mom wouldn't seek medical care to learn what ailed her. "I think she knew something was wrong, but she worried about going to the doctor," Roundtree said. Now the Northeast Bandits of the Suncoast Youth Football Conference are looking out for Olajuwon -- and, in the bargain, several brothers and sisters. When their mother died, Olajuwon and his 17-year-old sister, Sierra, went to live with Roundtree in Woodlawn Gardens, where tenants can get help paying rent. Joshua, 14, went with Santria Williams, 25, another sister. The family is not well-off. At first, there was no money to pay for Jeannette Williams' funeral. Guardianship issues remain. So do questions about possible Social Security income for the children. A mountain of legal work awaits. The 14th Avenue S house, which Williams owned, needs work to be comfortably livable. "We're trying to gather up what they need," said Alfreddie Jones, one of Olajuwon's coaches. The Bandits organization, which provides afterschool recreation for several hundred players and cheerleaders up to 15 years old, is a community-driven organization. Its adult leaders, many of them parents, are volunteers. The organization decided last week to contribute $1,000 toward the funeral. That was just a beginning. The Bandits are holding a food drive this week at their practice field on 77th Avenue N and 18th Street. And coaches have rounded up various sources of help to make the young people's life a little easier. Boston Asset Management will sort out some of the issues, and a lawyer will work at no cost, said Shannon Brooks, head coach of Olajuwon's team. Royal Flush Plumbing will help work on the house, Brooks said. "All of us, in our own little way, have contacts we can call on," he said. Mike Lindsay and brothers Ken and George Wade also are coaches. Molly Klessig-Wade, the team mom, is a particular favorite of Roundtree. "We appreciate everything they're doing," Roundtree said. Olajuwon plays both offense and defense for the Bandits' varsity midgets, which fields 14- and 15-year-old players weighing up to 165 pounds. The team was 6-1-1 going into its game against Pinellas Park on Saturday night. At 135 pounds, Olajuwon hasn't reached his growth. His legs look thin and fragile, but speed is his weapon. "He's a heck of a running back. He's lightning. He's one of the quickest kids you'll see," Brooks said, noting that Olajuwon ran 40 yards in about 4.6 seconds during early-season timing sessions. A ninth-grader, Olajuwon hopes to play for St. Petersburg High School next year. This year, he opted for the youth league team instead of trying out for the high school junior varsity team. Many players do so, Brooks said, because the youth league offers more regular-season games and a playoff system, which the junior varsity doesn't have. As others planned his immediate future, Olajuwon last week immersed himself in football. He was named for professional basketball star Hakeem Olajuwon, but without question, the gridiron game is his favorite activity. Practices have offered refuge, his coaches say, and will continue to do so this week. His mother's funeral is scheduled for Saturday. "I'm doing pretty good," Olajuwon said. "I'm maintaining." The player and his coaches are fond of one another. "They're pretty good," Olajuwon allows, in adolescent understatement. Not one of the team's holler guys, he listened carefully during a practice as coaches walked them through plays for Saturday night. "You teach him something, you tell him once -- it's in the memory," Lindsay said. It's not unusual for players in the midgets' age group to have unusual family structures, coaches say. Sometimes, Brooks said, "Coaches are the only father figures these kids ever know." Some keep in touch for years after they leave the team. Olajuwon's mother might have seen more games, but getting around was hard for her. Even so, Olajuwon's most vivid memory of his mom involves football. "When I got home, she always wanted to know everything that happened. I told her about every game," he said. And she, in turn, put up every photo she could.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Dr. Delay Letters |
