Washington’s Montez Sweat Likely to Miss Eagles Game After Brother’s Shooting Death
Anthony Sweat, the brother of Washington Football Team defensive end Montez Sweat, was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon near Richmond, Virginia, police said on Wednesday.
Montez Sweat, one of WFT’s top players, is reportedly planning on not playing in Sunday’s NFL Week 17 home game against Philadelphia.
Local police reported that they received a call about a shooting around 4:09 p.m. on Tuesday. Anthony was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have yet to offer details regarding what led up to the shooting.
Sweat was absent from the WFT team practice on Wednesday.
Anthony’s death at age 27 comes months after their mother died earlier this year, and just a few days after a WFT player, Deshazor Everett, was allegedly behind the wheel during a car accident that killed passenger Olivia S. Peters.
In regard to the Sweat tragedy, Washington coach Ron Rivera issued a statement.
"It is rough and our thoughts and prayers are with the families," Rivera said. "When we're here in the facility, we try to make sure the players understand that we're here for them."
And earlier in the week, after Everett was involved in the single-car crash outside of Washington on Christmas Eve, Rivera was also moved to speak about the general mindset of his team in the wake of tragedy - and in the wake of the team's lopsided 56-14 loss at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
"These guys are more than just robots. These are people,” Rivera said. “They've got a teammate going through something right now. It's tough. That's not normal shit. That's real life."
Injuries will prevent two other standouts, running back Antonio Gibson and cornerback William Jackson III, from playing Sunday for the 6-9 WFT.
