A Sea Of Red

Please keep this young man in your prayers, as he is currently fighting for his life at the UVA Medical Center after being shot in the head late Saturday night. Shay was a part of the LU Football 2007 signing class, and was redshirted last season. He is not enrolled at LU this semester, but certainly still a part of the LU family.

From Chris' Flames Notes ...

NewsAdvance wrote:Praying for Shay

Liberty quarterback Mike Brown is No. 10 on the Flames roster. But Monday at practice, he wore the No. 22 jersey that former LU tailback Shay Nicholson wore as a tribute to his friend.

Nicholson was shot in the head early Sunday morning in Harrisonburg and is in critical condition at UVa Medical Center. Nicholson, a former Robert E. Lee High standout, redshirted last year at Liberty and left school after the spring.

Still, Nicholson was in the hearts of Liberty’s players and coaches as news of the shooting filtered down to Lynchburg.

Rocco said LU associate athletics director Kristie Beitz and team director of spiritual development Ed Gomes are acting as liaisons between the football program and the Nicholson family.

“What you don’t want to do is bombard the family with calls and visits,” Rocco said. “This is not the time or place to do that. But our thoughts and prayers are going out to Shay and his family.”

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I promise you, the entire community of James Madison University is praying for this kid. I am horrified by what occurred, and hope that it doesn't represent your views of the city of Harrisonburg, as it is a great college town up here.

Thanks for sharing. This is a terrible turn of events from every perspective.

I will try to keep you updated as I can, but I have a feeling the news pipeline will be as about as efficient down there as it will be up here.

very sorry to hear about this...

here's the thread we had started on him- sad it didn't work out. Some things are more impotant than FB though- praying for the best for him and his family.

http://www.flamefans.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2976

update: they've arrested 4 people in connection to the shooter. have a warrant out on the 5th, name and everything. Shay remains in critical condition.

http://breezejmu.org/2008/11/17/alleged ... %E2%80%99/

according to a fan of Robert E. Lee where Shay played his high school football Shay passed away this morning.
We should certainly lift up his family, friends, and the team, in prayer as they deal with this horrible news.

http://virginiapreps.rivals.com/showmsg ... 09&style=1

Yeah, Shay died this morning. Some of our players are taking it kind of hard so while you're praying for his family, pray for the guys on the team too, especially those in his recruiting class.

Terrible news. Prayers for everyone involved.

Praying in Houston

My prayers for Shay's friends and family. Many of my students knew him and were also praying.

such a tragedy- will be praying for his family and for some good to come of this.

This is a scar that will haunt the JMU community for quite some time. I'm shocked and horrified.

Nice tribute in today's game by Mike Brown; wearing Shay's number 22.

olldflame wrote:Nice tribute in today's game by Mike Brown; wearing Shay's number 22.

They also had a framed document on the sideline dedicating the game to him, today.

Fumblerooskies wrote:

olldflame wrote:Nice tribute in today's game by Mike Brown; wearing Shay's number 22.

They also had a framed document on the sideline dedicating the game to him, today.

Yeah, I made that yesterday.

Every player also had a piece of paper in their lockers with a picture of Shay, his birthday-yesterday, and a Bible verse.

Every player had a 22 on their helmet.

Not sure if you saw the rock, but they painted that yesterday as well.


Also, just a thing on the 22 jersey. That's something our players do. Every practice this year someone has worn a 31 jersey for Donald Manns since he got hurt. When Shay got shot, Mike wore 22 in practice that day.