Playing for two: Miami's Haiden Thompson honors the memory of fallen friend
Two years ago, the community of Miami, Texas, was struck by tragedy. It was a tragedy that hit Haiden Thompson particularly hard.
When freshman Jake Tolbert died by suicide in 2020, Thompson lost his best friend. Thompson was left with a tremendous amount of feelings that he didn't know what to do with. With that in mind, Thompson did the only thing he knew how to help him push through the sadness: he turned to sports.
"Outside of sports there wasn’t a whole lot I could do to get my mind off of it," Thompson said. "Sports really helped me keep my mind off of things and have something to focus on and move forward. Jake wasn’t much of an athletic person, but he was always talking to me about games and stuff. It was nice to have him around to talk sports with.”
Thompson dedicates each and every game he plays to the memory of Tolbert. He's honored that memory well after putting up an MVP-type season in football this past year and as he recently eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark in basketball. Though basketball wasn't Tolbert's forte, Thompson still had a connection with him through the sport.
“Whenever we had a home game and he wasn’t working he would come," Thompson said. "He always joked with me and teased with me...It was kind of a good memory and something to think about every once in a while.”
Thompson thinks about Tolbert whenever he puts on the uniform, knowing the undershirt he dons for every game contains a picture of the two of them on the front and an unattributed quote on the back.
The quote reads: "When friendship leaves us through death, we feel cheated in life. Life doesn't play fair, so I vow to win the game for both of us."
Thompson isn't sure where the quote came from, just that he liked it. It's the promise he made to the memory of his friend that he does his best to keep true to, and it's a message that he tries his best to honor to those still around him in life, as well.
“If someone is down, he goes and picks them up," Miami head basketball coach Brandon Word said. "If someone needs encouragement, he does that. If someone needs a little fire lit under them, he does that. He’s a great leader that wants everybody to be successful. It’s just who he is.”
The Warriors begin their playoff journey this week. Miami opens up against Groom at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in White Deer. The Warriors will be playing for a shot at the next round and Thompson will be playing for his teammates, coaches, school and community.
He'll also be playing for Jake Tolbert.
Thompson still thinks of his friend, this time with less sadness than before. He thinks of where they'd be now and while he misses him, he knows now just how Tolbert would feel if he were here today.
“I’ve healed rather well," Thompson said. "I still think about him from time to time. I thought about him earlier today. Every once in a while, it’s good to think about how he would be proud of where I’m at now and how far I’ve come since the last time we met.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Playing for two: Miami's Haiden Thompson honors the memory of fallen friend
