Florida State players show support for Ethan Pritchard following shooting
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Florida State players wore armbands in solidarity on Saturday afternoon to show their support for freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard, who was shot in the back of his head last Sunday while giving his aunt a ride home in Havana, a Tallahassee suburb.
While 14th-ranked Florida State had a game to play at noon ET against East Texas A&M at Doak Campbell Stadium, it was Pritchard, their beloved teammate, who was clearly on their minds and in their hearts. The armbands the Seminoles wore had Pritchard’s No. 35 on them.
Pritchard was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital following the shooting and he was in stable condition, according to Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell. Norvell said he’s remained in contact with Pritchard’s family in the aftermath of the shooting.
The Florida State football social media account posted this Noles player wearing the Pritchard armband:
“It’s a lot, not going to say it’s not. I try to give the players a daily update,” Norvell told reporters on Wednesday. “I talked to Ethan’s dad this morning. I’m trying to check on him, check on Ethan. I was able to go by yesterday for a short period of time with limited visitation, just getting a chance to be there for a handful of minutes. It was good to be with him.”
On Saturday afternoon, Pritchard is with all of his teammates, as the armbands showed. Florida State will be trying to improve to 2-0 after its monster victory over Alabama last week, and the Noles will have some inspiration with them with Pritchard on their minds.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
