Singer Granger Smith showed his support for Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett following the drowning of his 2-year-old daughter, a tragedy Smith knows quite well.
On Monday, Smith, 43, left a comment under a photo of Barrett’s daughter, Arrayah, posted in honor of her 2nd birthday.
“Love you brother,” he wrote.
On April 30 at 9:30 a.m., police responded to the home of Barrett, in Tampa, Florida, about a child falling into a pool, per the Tampa Bay Times.
The child was then transported to a local hospital and life-saving measures were taken. However, she died not long after arriving at the hospital.
According to a statement given by the Tampa Police Department, it was a “purely accidental and tragic incident” with no indication of foul play. An investigation into what happened is still ongoing.
Following the news of Arrayah’s passing, the Buccaneers released a statement on Twitter, offering their condolences to the Barrett family.
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“Today’s tragic news is heartbreaking for all members of the Buccaneers family. Our thoughts and prayers are with Shaq, Jordanna (sic) and the entire Barrett family during this unimaginably difficult time. While no words can provide true comfort at a time such as this, we offer our support and love as they begin to process this very profound loss of their beloved Arrayah,” the statement read.
In 2019, Smith’s 3-year-old son, River, drowned in their pool and later died despite doctors’ efforts to save him.
Smith spoke about the difficulties of trying to cope with the death of his son in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“Most of it was failure. Trying to figure out how I was going to wake up in the morning and start a new day, knowing I have a dead son, is something that I failed at for months and months….,” he said.
Smith admitted that he “tried everything.”
“I tried the self-help books and I tried different forms of exercise, diets. Different edibles – anything,” he continued.
Despite his efforts, the country singer said nothing helped.
In his upcoming memoir, “Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward After Loss and Heartache,” set to be released on Aug. 1, Smith wrote about the devastating loss, which he described as “therapeutic.”
Smith shared he believes “there’s a kind of joy that can coexist with grief.”
He added, “You could be grieving and yet joyful and hopeful and have peace about that. That is my journey. A lot of people have different journeys on how to get to that location, but this is my journey on how I got there.”