A somber moment

I never knew him, but for some reason, his death affected me.

Chris Henry, former wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, died Thursday morning. He had sustained life-threatening injuries Wednesday after falling out of a moving truck driven by his fiancee.

He was just 26.

Henry had a history of off-the-field problems while with the Bengals, from being suspended by the National Football League for violating its substance abuse policy, to violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. He had been suspended five separate times during his brief NFL career.

But he was a man that appeared to be turning his life around.

Prior to the 2008 season, Cincinnati re-signed Henry to a two-year contract, less than a month after Bengals coach Marvin Lewis publicly state the team was no longer interested in him.

But again, he was a man that was turning his life around.

Henry was drafted in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played the first nine games of this season for Cincinnati before breaking his forearm. At the time, he had 12 catches for 236 yards.

Authorities have not released a cause of death yet.

I had gone home Thursday for lunch. It appeared to be like any other day.

I had heard the reports about Henry being in critical shape following the accident the night before and Thursday morning on ESPN's Sports Center, it didn't sound good.

When I turned the television on during lunch, I saw the news of the tragic event.

And all I could think about was my own family.

I am blessed that I have a family that truly loves me. I, in return, love them all dearly, and would be devastated to see anything happen to any of them.

Then, I started thinking about others and how small, little things affect us daily.

Sometimes, people are capable of brushing off those small, insignificant things. But other times, people just can't.

I couldn't help but think about this man and how his life was taken from him all because of one event.

It doesn't matter if there was an argument. It doesn't matter what transpired prior to the accident.

All that really matters is this man is dead. Eight days before Christmas.

He will be in my prayers -- as will his family -- during this holiday season.