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ETBU Unveils My Brother's Keeper Statue
“We reflect on the lives of two young men, who will always be a part of the fabric of this institution,” ETBU President J. Blair Blackburn said. “We reflect, but we celebrate their eternal lives with Jesus. D.J. and Tre are in the presence of our Lord Jesus, and now their presence and legacy will forever live on at Ornelas Stadium.”
50 Hilltop Winter 2020 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 1 JOHN 3:16 T he “My Brother’s Keeper” statue, commissioned in memory of the lives of two freshmen Tiger Football players, Darrian "D.J." McClintock, Jr., and Norvontre "Tre" Harrison, who lost their lives during a tragic drowning accident in April of 2016, now stands at the top of Ornelas Stadium as a symbol of accountability and sacrifice of Christian discipleship.
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Family members of both McClintock and Harrison returned to ETBU in April of 2017, for a memorial service held on the one year anniversary of the boys’ passing where Dr. Blackburn announced the plans to have the bronze statue made in memory of the young men.
“I was very excited and surprised to learn about the statue," D.J.’s dad Darrian McClintock said during the memorial service. "That's a good way to remember them and the school here is truly like a family."
A plaque at the foot of the statue reads scripture from 1 John 3:16 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
D.J. and Tre’s legacy of brotherly love will stand, arm in arm, at the top of Ornelas Stadium, watching over their brothers and fellow Tigers on the football field.
"It really touched me because at the end of the day, I want him to be remembered and this is a way to remember that April 28, 2016, was a day that changed our lives forever," Tre's mother Norvetta Harrison of Shreveport said. "It feels like when ETBU plays football, Tre and D.J. are carrying them and will be there with them."
Although the boys’ presence has been greatly missed around campus and on the football field since that tragic day in 2016, their legacy of brotherly love, sacrifice, and fond memories will forever remain present in the minds and hearts at East Texas Baptist. “The loss of D.J. and Tre brought our team to another dimension of togetherness and a unity of playing for one another. We were playing for two of our brothers who would have done anything for just one more play,” ETBU Tiger teammate and now ETBU Assistant Football coach Travis Danford (’17) said. “Now as a coach, I tell my guys all of the time to not take a single day for granted and to make the most out of every opportunity they are blessed with.”
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