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They had a barbecue for Takk McKinley a couple of summers ago. Proud Richmond residents celebrating a native son.
You should have been there.
McKinley was on his way, fulfilling the football promise he showed at Kennedy High School and, after that, at UCLA. The day of the barbecue McKinley had already been drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, in the first round no less. He went viral on draft day, shaking the commissioner’s hand while holding a framed photograph of his late grandmother — the woman who raised him when his mom and dad abdicated their responsibility, the woman whom he’d promised he would make good. And, oopsie, in a fit of youthful exuberance he might have dropped a naughty. To the extent that an f-bomb can be endearing, McKinley made it so.
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“They say good things can’t come out of Richmond,” McKinley, who learned football by playing “Madden 2003,” said on barbecue day, “and that’s not the truth. A lot of great things have come out of Richmond. Having this little event, I’m just trying to show everybody around the world or wherever that Richmond is not a bad place. You can make it out of Richmond as long as you stick to your goals and stay on top of everything.”
His rookie season he had six sacks and two forced fumbles. This season he started eight games and had a team-high seven sacks.
On Tuesday afternoon, McKinley was detained by police in Los Angeles and held for a mental evaluation, TMZ Sports reported.
It seems McKinley was at a high-end hotel when a friend of his became concerned for his well-being. According to TMZ, McKinley cooperated with police. He was not arrested or charged with a crime.
On Tuesday night, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn released a statement:
“We were recently made aware of the situation involving Takk in Los Angeles earlier today. Any time a situation occurs that is or could be related to mental health issues we take it very seriously.”
Wednesday afternoon Falcons spokesman Brian Cearns told the Associated Press that McKinley was staying with a family member in Oakland. Cearns said McKinley “is in a good spot” and has been in communication with the team. From the outside looking in, it appears whatever situation arose Tuesday has been defused.
That said, here is the obligatory disclaimer: We don’t have all the details. We don’t know what went on. But we know incidents such as these are not unusual. Young, celebrated adults with limited life experience. Money. Fame. Unconditional adulation. Just guessing here — sometimes it must be difficult to tell the glad-handers from the community supporters.
What we can say with certainty is that as recently as two summers ago, McKinley had the communal support to help him navigate a confusing stretch of life, and the instincts to connect with those who were on his side when he had little of substance to offer them.
Seriously, you should have been at that barbecue. It thrummed with feel-good, pride and grand intentions.
“I’ve got the city on my back,” he told his friends that day. “I’m not going to let you down.”
