Tribute to a former student who left us far too early

I love teaching all of the students am privileged to work with at Grand Valley State University, and Brady McAtamney was a particular pleasure. 

It wasn’t just how I would call on him during the waning years of the Patriots dynasty and use his name to pivot to asking the class, many of whom were long suffering Lions fans, if they had seen Tom Brady’s latest heroics.  (Honesty does compel me to say that the students found this less entertaining as the semester progressed, going from hearty laughter to polite chuckles to minor annoyance to outright booing.) 

It wasn’t that he knew exactly the kind of work he wanted to do and the types of stories he wanted to tell as a sportswriter.  

Rather it’s because he was a young man of unusual intelligence, sensitivity, courage and character.  The pain caused by his father’s death when he was only 10 years old and his struggles from having a single eye led Brady to develop a gentle wisdom and abundant humanity that suffused his being.  In our Jewish tradition, we would call him a mensch. 

Brady displayed integrity before the beginning of his senior year at Grand Valley. Rather than take a coveted sports editor position, he assumed the role editor in chief because the need was there.  Understandably, he struggled at first in his new role, but adjusted and acquitted himself well. Brady never complained while contributing to our community, culture and tradition. He made many other contributions after graduating, pursuing his dreams in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down all manner of activity and had a singularly devastating impact on sports games and attendance.

Brady moved to Tennessee after graduating, demonstrating a different type of insight by recognizing his need not just for individual self-care, but for a meaningful local community to thrive and flourish.  In 2021 he spoke to the students in my Issues in Journalism class about the critical importance of mental health. The students were enormously grateful for his message-perhaps even more than in ordinary times because of the stiff challenges the pandemic presented to all of us.  

One of them wrote the following about Brady’s words in a post-session reflection:

Mental health is a serious issue in our country, and COVID-19 has not made it any easier for the population. What Brady spoke about reminds us to take care of ourselves and enjoy life. If you live your life constantly working and with your head in a book, you’re going to miss the beautiful moments with family and friends. Also, you could be sacrificing the health of your own brain and that is not worth a job or story (unless it’s a big one and you’re the whistleblower).  

Brady acted on his message when he moved back to Michigan after five years in Tennessee.  After taking a position at the Macomb Daily, he started to move more and more into the kind of storytelling that embodies best of what sports writing can be, the pieces that go beyond recapping the scores to telling about the people behind the mask or underneath the uniform. His obituary shared that it was a generational gift:

He had a knack for telling the story – the human story – beyond the stats. His love of people. His love of sports. His love of words. This combination is what set him apart. This is what grew his following and readership. His writing talent was a gift handed down from his Grandpa James Hartzell who is undoubtedly embracing his talented grandson right now.

Last fall Brady encouraged the students in the Sports Media class I was teaching while course creator Eric Harvey was on sabbatical in a session with fellow GVSU alums, former students and sports journalists Kellen Voss-Thompson and Eli Ong.  I burst with joy and pride the entire period, which blended good natured banter and verbal jostling with constructive and specific career tips for the new crop of students.

Brady responded in typically kind and humble fashion after I thanked the three of them in a group text: “Thank you for thinking of us as worthy role models for the next generation of Lakers.  It was a pleasure!” 

That was our Brady, which is why the news of his sudden death is so shocking and hurts so much. The gaping hole that he leaves behind is all the larger for being so unexpected and for contradicting the natural flow of generations.   

We will try to draw consolation in our memories of Brady and in the knowledge that feeling the bone-deep ache is a reminder both of being alive and of the gift of having known this beautiful young man.

Mingled with the pain and condolences for his family and loved ones, though, will be gratitude for who he was, how he lived, and what he gave us through our shared moments and the courageous, compassionate and generous manner in which he used the precious gift of his life. 

Thank you, Brady, I respect you. I will miss you.  And I love you.  

By Jeff Kelly Lowenstein,

The author is the founder and executive director of the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) and associate professor at Grand Valley State University.  Brady McAtamney, his former student, died on June 23 at age 28. 

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