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Linebacker Nick Wiebe was speaking for himself, but he seemed to sum up how everyone with the Saskatchewan Roughriders was coping with Jayden Dalke’s death and the circumstances surrounding it.
“It’s tough to wrap your head around when someone you’re that close to isn’t around anymore,” Wiebe told reporters in Regina on Monday. “It’s been a tough couple of days.”
The Roughriders are still trying to make sense of how a two-car crash Saturday night involving Dalke, a 30-year-old fellow linebacker, and a 22-year-old man left both people dead.
Dalke was en route to Regina from Edmonton following the team’s bye week when the collision occurred just before 9 p.m., east of Lumsden along Highway 11 near the A and B exits.
The RCMP said Monday a silver SUV driven by Dalke was travelling northbound in the southbound lane, resulting in a head-on collision. It’s unclear how long Dalke had been driving in the wrong direction.
Officers located alcohol and cannabis in his vehicle, but the RCMP cannot say yet if impaired driving played a factor in the crash. They also received a report that Dalke left a gas station roughly 30 minutes before the collision without paying for fuel.
Without knowing the specifics of what occurred, Wiebe is in disbelief that Dalke, his close friend, is gone. The two spoke over the phone while Dalke was on the road on Saturday, roughly five hours before the crash.
“The toughest part is talking to him that close in proximity to what all happened,” Wiebe said. “The one thing I’ll always be able to look back on and smile about is we said we love each other when we signed off the phone.”
Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds said he learned of the RCMP’s details of the crash only when they were released on Monday afternoon. He called the incident a “terrible tragedy” for all involved, including the family of Bhishma Rajyaguru, the other person killed.
The Riders were supposed to return to the field Sunday, a week after their previous game, but cancelled practice upon getting news of Dalke’s death. Coach Corey Mace scheduled an early morning meeting with the team captains before addressing the entire team.
“It was a heavy day,” quarterback Trevor Harris said.
Centre Logan Ferland hosted a barbecue on Sunday night to make sure his teammates had a place to be together.
“Nobody wants to be alone in a situation like this,” Wiebe said.
General manager Jeremy O’Day said players and coaches will have access to their chaplain, extra availability from a mental health consultant, and resources from the CFL and the players’ association for support.
“It’s just having an empathy and understanding that everybody grieves differently and just to respect that,” Mace said.
The Riders will have to move on without someone Mace referred to as a “relentless competitor.” Linebacker Jameer Thurman called Dalke “the glue of our team,” someone who could relate to others and made everyone feel welcome.
“Ultimately, you have to push on,” Harris said. “It’s not what you want to do. You want to mourn and shut down all that.”
The have just a couple more days to prepare for the first game of a home-and-home set against the Edmonton Elks. The opener goes Thursday in Regina before the rematch next Saturday in the Alberta capital. Both teams have just one loss, but the Elks have five wins to the Riders’ four.
“It’s a unique lifestyle that we’ve chosen, today and yesterday aside,” Mace said. “We always have to answer questions about what we do and our job. Something like this happens, most people need some time. We don’t really get that luxury.
“You try to find a little bit of normalcy in what we do, while also staring in the face of the inevitable. Just how we carry ourselves and how we move forward is the sweet spot for us. It’s not an easy thing, but there’s a game to be played. It’s a big one.”
