The Story Behind Wesley Bailey's Heart Hands Sack Dance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - In the game of football, it's almost second nature that, if a player scores a touchdown, a touchdown dance to celebrate it is soon to follow. While some dances are more iconic than others, such as the Lambeau Leap, the Ickey Shuffle, and the Dirty Bird, most players have a go-to celebration when they reach the end zone.

While maybe not quite as popular, on the other side of the ball, most defensive players have a celebration when they record a sack. From some of the more common dances like the bow-and-arrow and a simple flex, to more iconic ones like Jared Allen's calf roping, Neil Smith's home run swing and Gilbert Brown's "grave digger," when the quarterback goes down, expect the tackler to celebrate appropriately.

Like most players, Louisville defensive end Wesley Bailey has his own celebration for when he gets in the backfield and takes down the quarterback. But instead of going with some of the more popular dances of the current era, or emulating a more iconic dance, Bailey has a fairly unique sack dance.

He'll get up off the ground, put his hands in the shape of a heart, and point it skyward.

Bailey did not go with this celebration as a way to try something new, or simply stand out from the crowd of other sack dances. In fact, it's a way for him to continue to honor his late mother every time he gets on the football field.

"The game of football itself, it's very passionate," Bailey told Louisville Cardinals On SI. "It’s definitely something I keep in the back of my head while I'm playing, just playing with that tip on your shoulder, in a sense."

While Bailey was born and raised across the border in Canada, growing up in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, his family is of Jamaican descent. His mother relocated to Canada around 1995-96, and Bailey was born several years later in 2002.

An immigrant from Jamaica, his mother would sometimes make return trips back home to see family. However, on April 1, 2007 when Bailey was just five years old, during one of these trips, his mother was shot and killed.

He still has "good memories with her, just hearing her voice and seeing her," but with being only five years old, Bailey and his three siblings had to lean on each other in both the immediate aftermath and the years that have since followed his mother's death. While older sisters Chanelle and Shanti were very much major components of his life during this time and still to this day, his twin sister, Wesley-Ann, is who he leaned on the most.

"She's everything," he said. "My best friend, my idol, someone I can talk to about anything. I know she knows that if she needs anything, I'm there. I've always been there for her. A phone call away, a flight away. I'm always there."

After his mother's passing, Bailey and his twin went to go live with his uncle and his wife, while his two older sisters moved in with his grandma. As a kid living with a family of immigrants, Bailey was one of 12-13 people living in just a two bedroom apartment.

Given their living circumstances prior to his mom's death, Bailey calls this part of his life almost like a "blessing in disguise."

"When she passed away, it's kind of like, I hate to say like a blessing in disguise, but we moved into a better situation," he said. "Where I had … better living conditions, because we went from 12 people in a two bedroom apartment to a two bedroom house with, me and my sister, and then my uncle and his wife."

His sisters and the rest of his family helped play a massive role in shaping his life following his mother's death. While sports played a slightly lesser role in this regard, it still played a role nonetheless in both the grieving process, and how it developed him into who he is today.

Bailey first starting football at just 10 years old, when he was in the fourth grade. He also played baseball and soccer as a kid, as well as volleyball - the latter of which he participated in during high school.

While he's a defensive lineman now, he actually started his football journey on the other side of the line of scrimmage as a wide receiver and running back. In fact, during his time with the Cumberland Panthers, a youth football organizations in Ottawa, he continued to play on that side of the ball up until his senior season in high school.

After growing up in Canada, for his final year of prep before college, Bailey opted to make the move to the states, transferring to Clearwater Academy International in Clearwater, Florida.

This move was fueled by Victor Tedondo, who runs Gridiron Academy in Ottawa. Regarded as "Canada's Premier Sports Performance Academy," Bailey had previously trained at Gridiron Academy, and Tedondo used his connections to get him in touch with Clearwater Academy. Additionally, on the advice of Tedondo, this is when Bailey made the move to defensive line.

Bailey admits that he didn't want to make the move, but as it turned out, it produced immediate dividends. During his senior season with the Knights, he logged 62 tackles, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a blocked field goal.

During his recruitment, Bailey was regarded as a three-star prospect, and ranked as the No. 1,063 prospect in the Class of 2020 by the 247Sports Composite. While schools like Illinois and Minnesota were considered the frontrunners to land him, on the first day of the early signing period, he committed to and signed with Rutgers.

Bailey had thought about ways that he wanted to honor his mother on the football field once he got to college, and as it turned out, he was afforded an early opportunity to do so.

The defensive end was given a handful of snaps as a true freshman in 2020, including when Ohio State came to Piscataway in Week Five. While the Buckeyes routed the Scarlet Knights to the tune of 52-13, Bailey earned career sack No. 1 on C.J. Stroud, and got to do his sack dance to honor his mother for the first time.

"That was definitely something I thought about, because I already knew all that I wanted I get my first one there," he said.

During his four years at Rutgers, Bailey has plenty of opportunities to honor his mother. In 36 career games as a Scarlet Knight, he collected 81 tackles, 16 for loss, 9.5 sacks, six pass break ups and four fumble recoveries.

However, after an injury-riddled 2024 season, Bailey wound up opting out midway through the year in order to preserve his redshirt, and decided to hit the transfer portal. The edge rusher eventually picked Louisville, in part because of how head coach Jeff Brohm runs the Cardinals like an NFL organization.

"I was looking for a program that was, in a sense, like NFL-ran," he said. "They treat their guys like professionals and not kids. I feel like Jeff Brohm does a great job doing that. He’s professional. He takes care of guys. He understands that guys are gonna come in and do what they need to do to get better. He take care of his guys, whether it's physically, mentally or on the field or off the field."

Like his first year at Rutgers, Bailey didn't have to wait long to introduce Louisville fans to his sack dance.

Last Friday night against James Madison, the 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive end has a career-night. Not only did he finish with a career-best eight tackles, he also collected his first sack as a Cardinal. Naturally, Bailey then proceeded to put his hands in the shape of a heart, and point it towards the crowd.

But he wasn't alone.

Defensive tackle Rene Konga - a fellow Canadian and trainee at Gridiron Academy - as well as edge rusher Clev Lubin, walked up right next to Bailey and did the same. Compared to the "maybe like one or two" Rutgers teammates that knew the significance of his first sack dance, having a pair of his Cardinals teammates join him in honoring his mother is something that he greatly appreciates.

"It's definitely love," he said. "I've known Rene (Konga) for a while, but just seeing my other teammates do it with me, it just shows that it's more than just a game. It's just not football, but we have guys that, essentially, you’re going to war with, that have my back. Whether it’s football or in life. It means a lot, man, and I tell them that."

If the first two games of the year are any indicator, this will not be the last time the defensive line will be honoring Bailey's late mother. His 10 tackles are good for third on the team, while UofL as a whole already has ten sacks - including 3.5 from Lubin alone.

If you ask Bailey, this fast start from the defensive line is something he expects them to keep up from the entire season.

"I love seeing the guys eat," he said. "Guys getting vertical, getting pressure opportunities. I’m excited for what this season has to come. .. I really like the way out D-line and defense is looking, and our team as a whole."

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