Kentucky Football Players Recount Apartment Fire

As the basketball team’s Bahamas tour winds down and the countdown to football season dips under 2 weeks, it appears we have withstood another grueling summer without Kentucky sports and are now on the pinnacle of the 2014-15 athletic season. These next few weeks for the football Cats start the long grind towards earning their first postseason berth since 2010, but for 4 Kentucky football players the grind began in early June when their apartment complex caught fire while senior DB Nate Willis was at home cooking and the other 3 players (Melvin Lewis, Mike Douglas, and Javess Blue) were training at the Nutter Training Facility.

Jon Hale at 247Sports wrote about the ordeal including how the coaches and school helped the players get through the tough days and weeks following the accident. 

“It was devastating, because unfortunately we lost everything,” Lewis said.

NCAA rules allowed UK to help the players replace some of their clothing and other belongings. An insurance policy helped them buy furniture for a new apartment.

But for a few days the teammates were sent to a hotel, uncertain of what the future held for them.

It was certainly a devastating experience for the 4 players involved, all 4 of which are a pretty good bet to contribute significantly this year on the field. Here’s to hoping the postseason ends much better for these guys than the preseason started.