‘It ain’t easy’: KC Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed on coping with brother’s death

Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass in an opening-round playoff game two weeks ago. With his teammates chasing him, Sneed immediately jogged 55 yards to the southwest corner of Arrowhead Stadium.

Gripping the ball in his right hand, he pointed into the stands with his left, and then he launched the football to an intended receiver.

His mom.

The interception ultimately didn’t count — a penalty negated the play — but Sneed’s mother, Jane Mims, secured the football.

“This is for TQ Harrison, regardless of a call-back,” she wrote.

Last month, TQ Harrison, Sneed’s brother and Mims’ oldest son, was killed in a stabbing in their hometown of Minden, Louisiana, according to police. He was 32.

Sneed missed two games before returning to a locker room that spoke of him often during his absence. Chiefs safety and team captain Tyrann Mathieu dedicated one of those wins to Sneed after imploring his teammates to “Play for L’Jarius” during a pre-game speech.

Sneed has since returned, and on the field, it’s as though he hasn’t skip a beat.

But he has.

In his first meeting with the media since his brother’s death, Sneed acknowledged Thursday what should be obvious: TQ Harrison remains on his mind often.

“It ain’t easy,” he said.

Sneed returned to Minden — on a private jet that teammate Patrick Mahomes helped him procure — to be with his family and attend his brother’s funeral. A woman has been charged in Harrison’s death.

The tragedy has understandably weighed on Sneed, even if that hasn’t been demonstrated in his play on the field. In fact, the weight is especially heavy everywhere except the football field.

“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to play football, because I would say football takes my mind off things like that,” Sneed said. “That’s why I love the game of football. It takes my mind off what’s really going on in my life.”

Sneed endured a difficult upbringing that included both of his parents landing in prison until he was almost 6 — a story he shared with The Star earlier this season.

He developed a bond with TQ Harrison that stretched beyond brotherhood. With both parents locked up, Harrison, who was eight years older, helped raise Sneed. He changed diapers. Did laundry. Walked his brothers to school.

“It was a wonderful experience — something God put us through,” Harrison told The Star during an interview a month before his death. “I wouldn’t trade it for nothing.”

And Sneed hasn’t forgotten it.

On game days now, he scripts TQ Harrison’s name onto his white gloves. He also wears an undershirt that’s dedicated to his brother.

So even as football has provided an escape, as he described it, the loss of his brother is never completely out of his mind.

“I’m still dealing with it. I’m still dealing with the problem of what’s going on,” Sneed said. “I have my teammates and my coaches who (are) helping me along this way and just keeping me uplifted and keeping me motivated.”