Raiders QB Derek Carr Offers Support for Ex-Teammate Charged in Fatal DUI: ‘He Needs to Be Loved’
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr wants his former teammate Henry Ruggs III to know he still has people in his corner, even as the wide receiver faces charges for a DUI that left one person dead.
“If no one else will do it, I’ll do it,” Carr said of supporting Ruggs.
Early Tuesday morning, Ruggs was involved in a fiery car crash that resulted in the death of one person and one dog. Ruggs was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and will face charges of DUI resulting in death.
The Raiders released the 22-year-old wide receiver after prosecutors alleged Ruggs was driving his Chevrolet Corvette 156mph while intoxicated more than twice the legal limit when he crashed into a Toyota RAV4, killing the driver and her dog.
“My emotions have been on a roller coaster so to speak this year,” Carr told reporters Wednesday. “My heart goes out so much. I’ll try to say it with a straight face because I’ve already been emotional about every bit of this. But to the family, to all the families involved, no one ever wants to see this, whether it’s a football player or not, you never want to see something like this happen. It broke my wife and I’s heart, honestly.”
The devastating car crash occurred just three weeks after the Raiders parted with disgraced head coach Jon Gruden, after leaked emails showed him using racist, misogynistic and homophobic language.
An NFL season marred by scandal for the Raiders, Carr continues to be a team leader on and off the football field. The quarterback has been supportive, almost to a fault, portraying himself as a person who believes in the power of forgiveness in recent weeks, first with Gruden and now with Ruggs.
“When it comes to this situation, there’s so many things out of our control but then I do sit back and I think, ‘Was there something – Did I not let him know that I would be there for him at 3 a.m.?’ I want to be better,” Carr said.
“I will always be here for him,” the Raiders quarterback continued of Ruggs. “That won’t change and I’ll prove that over the course of time to him. Not to anybody else. But he needs people to love him right now. He’s probably feeling a certain type of way about himself right now. He needs to be loved.”
Watch above via KTNV
