By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Amid the tears and grief, there was also joy and laughter Saturday as thousands of members of the University of Virginia family gathered at John Paul Jones Arena to celebrate the lives of three beloved students.
UVA football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were shot and killed last Sunday night after returning from a field trip to Washington, D.C. Injured in the shooting were two other UVA students: Marlee Morgan and Mike Hollins, a running back on the football team. A fellow student has been charged with the murders of the three players.
“It was a shocking event that reverberated around Grounds and around the world,” UVA president Jim Ryan said at the memorial service, “especially among our Black students, faculty, staff and alumni … It changed our world.”
More than 9,000 people, including scores of former UVA football players, as well as Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, came to JPJ to pay their respects Saturday, and thousands more watched the service online or on television. The families of the victims sat in the front row.
“I hope we can take a measure of solace from being together to honor them,” Ryan said.
In addition to Ryan, UVA rector Whitt Clement, athletics director Carla Williams and head football coach Tony Elliott, speakers included about a dozen UVA football players. One of those players, linebacker Hunter Stewart, read the Langston Hughes poem “Life is Fine.” There also were video tributes to the players, who were remembered for their big personalities and bigger hearts. Davis, Chandler and Perry wore jersey Nos. 1, 15 and 41, respectively.
“You were my earthly protector, and now I have no doubt you’re my heavenly protector,” Nick Jackson said in his message to Perry, a fellow linebacker who grew up in Miami.
Another linebacker, Josh McCarron, said he grew up hearing stories about the great men in his father’s life. “From the day I got to the University of Virginia, it was evident that D’Sean Perry was one of those great men my dad used to speak about.”
Running back Cody Brown read a letter he wrote to Chandler, who was from Huntersville, N.C., and began his college career at Wisconsin before transferring to UVA in January.
“Your smile alone was enough to brighten up anyone’s day,” Brown said.
Williams told stories about Chandler’s passion for dancing. “His rhythm was suspect, but his confidence was never in doubt,” she said, smiling.
Cornerback Elijah Gaines smiled, too, as he recounted Davis’ immense pride in his hometown of Ridgeville, S.C., whose population is less than 2,000.
“He always made Ridgeville sound like the biggest city in the world,” said Gaines, who’s from Queens, N.Y.
In a video, associate head coach Marques Hagans spoke of his family’s relationship to Davis, a 6-foot-7 receiver who enrolled at UVA in 2020.
“I’m grateful for the example you set for our two boys, Jackson and Christopher,” Hagans told Davis. “We’re going to do our best to make sure your legacy lives on forever.”
Freshman kicker Will Bettridge, like Perry, joined the Cavaliers’ football program after graduating from Gulliver Prep in Miami.
“I saw the man you had become, and I wanted to be like you,” Bettridge said.
Perry stood up for the people and causes he cared about, and “I now fight for you, D,” Bettridge said. “Everything I do is for you, and I promise I’ll make you proud.”
Williams said the tragedy has pushed her to her limits, but her faith in God sustains her.
“We are better, and we will do better, because of Devin, Lavel and D’Sean,” Williams told an audience that included Hollins’ mother, Brenda. “To the families, we love your sons, and we will make sure their legacy never fades at the University of Virginia.”