Dabo Swinney: 'We Can All Learn From Ella' Bresee
The past couple of weeks has been trying, tragic, difficult to process and emotionally draining for Bryan Bresee, his family and the Clemson football team.
Bresee, a junior defensive tackle, lost his 15-year-old sister to brain cancer last week. Ella Bresee's funeral was held Tuesday in Maryland.
"The emotions of that and then the closure that comes with it, yesterday, this will be something he'll deal with the rest of his life, but he's got a great support group and an amazing family," Swinney said of Bryan Bresee. "I think Ella, her words, her joy, what she wrote, hopefully, they can all take some peace from that. We certainly keep our arms around him. I know he's looking forward to getting back with his teammates and playing some ball."
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and many members of his program were in attendance during a "good but tough day" with the Bresee family.
"What a beautiful celebration of Ella," Swinney said. "It was amazing. We had a lot of players that were able to go. Everyone who spoke did an amazing job of really capturing the beauty of Ella, the joy of Ella and what she meant to so many people."
Ella was honored at Clemson's home opener on Sept. 10. She was on campus during that week and was supposed to be on hand for the game, but she fell too ill to stay and had to be rushed back to the Washington, D.C., area.
Less than a week later, tragedy struck. And as the Bresee family and Clemson family grieve her loss, her message and fight are helping Swinney, the young people he mentors and everyone else find a new perspective on life.
"As tragic as this has been, it's given us the opportunity to have some real-life conversations way beyond football," Swinney said. "It's one of these times in life where you have a chance to have some deep conversations. Men aren't always vulnerable, right? A lot of vulnerability and a lot of just good life perspective.
"I think we all can learn from Ella. She had written a letter and she just talked about how bad cancer changed was. Yes, it's bad, but she said, 'I have a choice and I choose to have a great attitude, and I'm going to make the best of each day.' And then she talked about how cancer had changed her. She's telling everyone, 'Don't hold grudges, love the sport you get to play, appreciate that.' She talked about family, and tell the people you love, you love them. It was awesome."
Swinney called Ella an "inspiration" for how thankful she was for each day.
"You have to live each day and live it to the fullest," Swinney said. "And to do that, you have to love and you have to forgive. As Ella said, you don't hold grudges. Have a true appreciation of today because that's all we've got. None of us are promised tomorrow."
There was another tragic death for the team this week. Swinney said that graduate assistant and equipment manager Noah Harvin lost his mother in a "horrible car wreck" while she was driving from Sumter, S.C., area to Clemson last week.
"Just devastating," Swinney said. "These are opportunities for everybody, young and old, to truly gain perspective on what's important and how we should treat people and process things and find joy in the journey and find joy in every moment that comes our way."
Want to join in on the discussion? 100% FREE! Interact with fellow Tiger fans and hear directly from publisher Zach Lentz, deputy editor Brad Senkiw, recruiting analyst Jason Priester and staff writer Will Vandervort on any subject. Click here to become a member of the ALL CLEMSON message board community today!
