A little more lethal than the garden variety chimping out. This one caught the eye of the local media because the individual in question was an incoming freshman for the Ball State football team in Muncie, Indiana.
Ball State football player Gavin Yates-Lyons dies at 18
He didn’t “die” like he had a heart attack and passed away in his sleep….
An 18-year-old Ball State football player has died before taking his first career snaps.
Gavin Yates-Lyons, a freshman defensive back on the Ball State football team, was caught in the crossfire of a shooting at a Tallahassee parking garage in the early morning hours of Sunday, May 24. Yates-Lyons was among three victims injured in the shooting and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. He died on Saturday, May 30.
A graduate of Lowndes County High School in south Georgia, Yates-Lyons signed with the Cardinals on Early Signing Day in December of 2025 and finished high school early to enroll and attend Ball State in January of 2026. He spent spring practice with the Cardinals and returned to Lowndes County to attend his high school graduation ceremony, which was held the day before the shooting….
…The shooting occurred at an “unsanctioned pop-up party” at a parking garage outside of Legacy Suites Apartments in Tallahassee. The other two victims, both adult males, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect or suspects remain at large, and the investigation remains open and active, according to the Tallahassee Police Department.
Those “unsanctioned pop-up parties” strike again.
Yates-Lyons seems like he had a lot going for him. He graduated early from high school so he was able to enroll early at Ball State so he could be involved in spring practices but went home for the graduation ceremony.
His high school, Lowndes High School, looks like a halfway decent school…
…and apparently is quite the football powerhouse:
With the arrival of head coach Randy McPherson in 2002, the Lowndes High football program has undergone tremendous growth. The Lowndes High School Vikings were ranked by ESPN at #2 in the United States on August 18, 2008. The team has been the Georgia State 5A Champion in 1980, 1999, 2004, 2005, and 2007. They were undefeated in 2004 for a perfect 15–0.
In the summer of 2008, Valdosta was featured on ESPN as a candidate for Titletown USA. The month-long segment started in the spring of 2008 and continued through July. Fans nominated towns and cities across the country based on their championship pedigree. A panel reviewed the nominees and fan voting in May determined the 20 finalists. SportsCenter visited each city in July, and fan voting July 23–27 determined the winner. On July 28, 2008, Valdosta was named Titletown, United States by ESPN. The history of athletic accomplishments at Lowndes was a factor in Valdosta achieving the title.
The Lowndes Vikings are coming off of back-to-back 10-2 seasons and have a swanky indoor practice facility.
Despite all of that Gavin Yates-Lyons still found himself in the company of bad people who decided to shoot at each other. There is no indication that he was involved in the shooting but he certainly was hanging around with people that were. He wasn’t likely to play beyond college but still he had a scholarship to a D1 team, even if it is just a MAC school (says the graduate of a MAC school). A world of opportunity was open before him for the taking but he ended up dead like so many other ghetto 2Gs.
Another big, stupid negro.
Anytime there are negroes, there is violence, screeching, shooting, twerking, and …. crossfire. When I have to journey into an American urban area, when I see these people it’s like going into the wilderness and seeing predator animals loose and in the same space as me. And then there are the ones I don’t see- who may see me….