NFL player from Belleville announces scholarship honoring the late Jaylon McKenzie
He was just a child when his life was cut short by a bullet, but during his brief time on earth, he propelled himself and his name to great heights.
That’s how New York Jets safety Tony Adams, a Belleville native, describes the life of Jaylon McKenzie, who was already drawing national attention for his skills on the football field when he was shot to death at a graduation party in 2019. Jaylon was only 14.
Adams is establishing an undergraduate scholarship to honor McKenzie and keep his legacy alive.
“It’s not fair… just not fair to destroy a young life that was just beginning like that,” Adams said in an interview with the BND. “ It’s not fair to lose a legend like that. We have to keep his name alive to help somebody else come up.
“The recipient will know who he was and what he was doing with his life to reach the goals he set for himself. He showed it can be done. It’s sad he is gone so soon.”
Adams was in Cahokia Heights on Saturday, July 8, for his Project Backpack, at Team Armistead Community Center. Adams and a group of volunteers gave away backpacks and school supplies to kids in grades 1-6. And of course, Adams chatted with folks and signed autographs.
“ I wanted to give back to the community that gave so much to me,” Adams said.
“ I wanted to use my success to help other people in the community achieve their dreams,” he said. “I was just happy to be able to give them some school supplies to help them out a little.”
Adams stressed that others helped with organizing Project Backpack. “I didn’t do it alone. There were a lot of people who helped me along the way,” he said. “All of the volunteers who were there were a blessing as well. I fed off of their energy. It was a great positive vibe. We fed off their energy and we were able to help the community.”
Adams, who is 24, grew up in Centreville (now part of Cahokia Heights) and Belleville. He graduated from St. Louis University High School and the University of Illinois. Now he is a safety for the New York Jets.
Adams, Jaylon shared similar traits
Adams said dedication, persistence, determination and hard work are the key reasons he is a member of the NFL team, where he played in 11 games in 2022 and started in the final game of the season. “My journey wasn’t easy, but I am here. I am excited. I am going to make the most of my opportunity,” Adams said.
He said Jaylen displayed some of those same qualities, including ``dedication, determination, discipline, ethics and hard work.”
“That’s how he achieved so much at such a young age. He was a young legend,” Adams said.
The deserving recipient of the annual Jaylon McKenzie Legacy of Hope Scholarship must display some of those same qualities, he said. Adams is working out details about the scholarship, but he expects the first to be awarded in 2024.
Jaylon’s mother, Sukeena Gunner, and his father, Otis Gunner, were surprised, and pleased, when Adams announced at the backpack event that he was establishing the scholarship.
“I am very excited and grateful to Tony Adams,” Sukeena Gunner said.
“ He and Jaylon used to run on the same AAU Team, the Dasher’s Track Club. He got a chance to get to know Jaylon through sports as well. He wanted to make sure he did his due diligence to help me keep Jaylon’s name alive and I am very happy and grateful.
“Jaylon dreamed big. No obstacle was too big. No stage was too big for him,” his mom said. “ Anything you put in front of him he was ready to attack it with all dedication and effort in order to be great.”
Jaylon had just graduated from middle school at the time of his death, but he already had drawn the attention of major college football programs. An October 2018 issue of Sports Illustrated declared him one of “six teens who will rule the future of sports.”
Jaylon was struck by a stray bullet at a graduation party in Venice on May 4, 2019. He died shortly after at an area hospital. A 15-year-old girl also was hit, police said at the time, but her name and condition has never been made public. Six men faced weapons charges in connection with the shooting.
More than four years later, Jaylon’s parents feel the pain of his loss.
“He was a silent guy but he had so much life in him,” Otis Gunner said emphatically.. “If you knew him, you had to love him.”
He said he is concerned about the gun violence among youth today.
“We’re going in a bad direction and it’s sad,” he said. “These kids are just shooting. And, the weapons they’re randomly shooting with, they are not trained to use them. If things don’t get better, this generation is scary.
“ I hear about it everyday. When I hear about how somebody lost their life because of gun violence on this side of the river or St. Louis, I think of how it happened to me. I did not think I would be burying my son… not at the age of 14.”
Gunner wants people to remember his son. “I have to keep pushing to tell his story. People need to know how good of a kid he was and I have to keep his legacy alive,” Gunner said.
Adams hopes the annual scholarship helps to do just that.
Jaylon draws Adams’ attention
Adams’ earliest recollection of Jaylon was when Jaylon was much younger.
“He always had a basketball with him, dribbling it around, “ Adams said. “ I thought he was going to be a hooper. I played with him, dribbling the basketball and stuff,” Adams said.
He ran across Jaylon years later when he was at the University of Illinois and heard about a young football phenom from the metro-east..
“...Out of nowhere I started seeing people repeatedly doing reposts on a kid from the area,” Adams said. “ He was the best wide receiver in the country, some of the posts said. “
Adams’ curiosity was peaked. He checked it out and saw that it was Jaylon. After that, he started following his progress.
“Every once in a while God gives somebody tremendous, amazing talent that glorifies the person and shows how great they are,” Adams said. “Jaylon had that He, indeed, was a rising star who had eyes popping and jaws dropping… definitely someone who put in the work, stayed focus and was chasing his big dream.”
