A GospelRhythms reflection on hidden pain, compassion, grief and the God who remains near to the brokenhearted

Content Note: This article discusses suicide, grief and emotional distress. If you or someone you know is in immediate emotional crisis or considering suicide, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

There are some stories that make us stop. Not because we knew the person personally. Not because their journey looked anything like our own. But because somewhere in the telling of their story, our hearts recognize something painfully human.

Alphonso Smith Jr. was only 40 years old.

The former NFL cornerback and Wake Forest standout died on September 2, 2026. Authorities reported that Smith died by suicide after emergency responders were called to Pahokee, Florida. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died.

For football fans, Smith’s name may immediately bring back memories of an exceptional athlete. At Wake Forest University, he became one of the most accomplished defensive backs in school history, finishing his collegiate career with 21 interceptions and later being inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame. The Denver Broncos selected him in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he later played for the Detroit Lions.

But today, statistics seem painfully inadequate.

Today there is a family grieving. Children grieving. Friends trying to understand. Former teammates remembering. A community asking questions that may never have complete answers.

And somewhere, someone reading this story may recognize something of themselves.

We Don’t Know Someone’s Entire Battle

Shortly before his death, Smith shared an emotional message on Facebook in which he spoke of fighting what he described as “demons,” expressed regret over people he believed he had hurt, referred to painful experiences from his childhood and wrote that he had needed help.

Those words are heartbreaking, but they should not become an invitation for strangers to diagnose him.

We do not know everything Alphonso Smith Jr. carried. We do not know every conversation, every memory, every disappointment, every regret, every unanswered prayer or every moment when he may have smiled while something inside of him was hurting.

Perhaps there is a lesson right there.

We see photographs. God sees hearts. We see careers. God sees wounds. We see accomplishments. God sees the places nobody applauds, photographs or posts online.

Scripture tells us:

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” , Psalm 34:18

God does not recoil from brokenness. He draws near to it.

To the Person Who Understands That Dark Place

Maybe this story hits differently because you understand what it feels like to become exhausted from fighting something nobody else can see. Maybe you’ve had moments when life felt unbearably heavy. Maybe shame has whispered that your mistakes define you. Maybe something happened years ago that you never completely processed. Maybe you have convinced everyone else that you’re okay.

Please hear this: Pain is real, but pain does not have to have the final word.

Jesus said:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” , Matthew 11:28

Jesus does not say, “Come after you’ve fixed yourself.” He says come heavy. Come tired. Come confused. Come ashamed. Come angry. Come afraid. Come while you’re still trying to understand yourself.

And when the darkness becomes too heavy to carry privately, reaching for professional help, a counselor, physician, pastor, trusted family member or crisis professional is not a contradiction of faith. Sometimes God’s provision arrives through another human being willing to sit beside us.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” , Galatians 6:2

A burden shared can become a burden survivable. Please give someone the opportunity to help carry yours.

To the Family That Has Lost Someone

There is another person reading this article. You are not fighting thoughts of suicide. You are surviving the aftermath of someone else’s.

And that is its own kind of anguish.

There can be grief, anger, confusion, questions and guilt. You may replay the last conversation, the last text, the last holiday or the last phone call. You may wonder, How didn’t I know? Was there something I missed? Could I have stopped this?

Some questions may remain unanswered. Grief does not always hand us an explanation. But Scripture gives us something perhaps more necessary than an explanation: presence.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” : Psalm 147:3

God does not require you to pretend that losing someone this way makes sense. You can mourn. You can cry. You can be angry. You can seek counseling. You can sit quietly before God when you don’t even know what to pray.

The Bible calls Him:

“The Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.” : 2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Sometimes God’s comfort does not immediately answer why. Sometimes His comfort simply says: I am here.

To Those of Us Watching From a Distance

Then there are those of us who never met Alphonso Smith Jr. We did not know him. We do not know his family. Perhaps we’ve never experienced suicidal thoughts or lost anyone to suicide, yet somehow this story still hurts.

That response matters too. It is called compassion.

We have become accustomed to scrolling through tragedy: another headline, another celebrity death, another photograph, another comment section, another story replaced by tomorrow’s story.

But human beings were never designed to become spectators of one another’s suffering.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” : Romans 12:15

Sometimes the most Christian thing we can do is simply allow another person’s pain to interrupt us. Not to gossip. Not to speculate. Not to judge. But to become softer, more observant and more willing to ask:

“How are you really doing?”

And then remain long enough to hear the answer.

Check on the Strong Friend

Perhaps one of the lasting lessons from tragedies like this one is that outward strength tells us very little about someone’s inner condition.

Athletes can hurt. Pastors can hurt. Executives can hurt. Mothers can hurt. Fathers can hurt. Comedians can hurt. Successful people can hurt. People who encourage everybody else can hurt. People who pray can hurt.

Strong people need safe places too.

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” : Proverbs 12:25

Your call may matter. Your text may matter. Your listening ear may matter. Your refusal to judge may matter. Your willingness to help someone locate professional support may matter. Your prayer may matter.

Never assume that because somebody appears strong, they don’t need strengthening.

There Is Still Hope

For anyone whose life currently feels overwhelmed by darkness, hear one more promise:

“Neither death nor life… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.” : Romans 8:38–39

You are not required to solve the rest of your life tonight.

Sometimes the next act of faith is simply staying. Making the call. Sending the text. Opening the door. Telling the truth. Saying:

“I need help.”

And to the rest of us: when someone finally says those words, may we listen. May we believe them. May we help them find the support they need.

May we also create communities: particularly communities of faith: where people are not required to hide their wounds in order to belong.

Remembering Alphonso Smith Jr.

Today, GospelRhythms remembers Alphonso Smith Jr.

The athlete. The son. The father. The friend. The man behind the football helmet and beyond the headlines.

We will not pretend to know everything he battled. We will not reduce his entire life to the manner in which it ended.

Instead, we acknowledge a life that mattered and a loss that has left people hurting.

Perhaps his passing can leave us with one sacred assignment:

Look closer. Love deeper. Listen longer. Judge less. Pray fervently.

And when somebody says they need help,

let us hear them.

Because sometimes behind the strongest exterior lives a heart desperately hoping somebody will notice.

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” : Psalm 34:18

May God draw especially near today to the children, family, friends, teammates and loved ones of Alphonso Smith Jr.

And may He draw near to every person reading this who is quietly fighting a battle the rest of us cannot see.

Rest in peace, Alphonso Smith Jr.

Your story was more than its final chapter.

If You Need Help

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, emotional distress or are worried about someone you love, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the United States. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Faith and professional support do not have to compete. Prayer, community, counseling and appropriate medical care can stand beside one another.