Mississippi State's Nick Bell passes from cancer
Mississippi State football player Nick Bell passed away on Tuesday 2 November, after a short battle with cancer. The defensive end, who was receiving treatment at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Hospital, was just 20 years old.
Originally from Bessemer, Alabama, Bell was diagnosed with brain cancer back in late September after complaining of headaches during practice. He underwent surgery to remove a mass from his brain on 1 October. However, Bell had to undergo a second emergency
surgery Monday morning in an attempt to combat the cancer that had spread.
“Nick was a son and he was a brother to everyone in this football family,” a morose Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said Tuesday night. “I know he’s looking down on us right now and I’m sure he’s already been picked for a team up in heaven to play football
again, the game that he loved.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the head coach held a team meeting during which he notified the rest of his players of Bell’s passing. Although the Bulldogs held their regularly scheduled practice, there were counsellors available for both the students and staff, and
the practice was deemed non-mandatory.
“That’s a sanctuary for our coaches, our players and our football family to be out there together doing the thing we love most,” Mullen said of his decision to go ahead with practice. “It kind of felt good to sweat out some of the feelings and emotions that
were inside.”
Although there were feelings of hope and optimism regarding Bell’s recovery after the initial surgery, his condition worsened over the past week, prompting another trip to the hospital on Sunday, 31 October. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs, who are in the midst
of an off week, won’t be able to use competitive football as an outlet or escape until their next game against Alabama on Saturday, 13 November.
“Our football team I know is hurting right now, learning how to cope,” Mullen said. “We’ve got a lot of young men 18 to 22 years old who are learning how to deal with grief like this for the first time.”
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