News reports that former UL-Lafayette star safety Orlando Thomas, who went on to play six seasons in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, had died yesterday at the age of 37 are untrue. Thomas' Chicago-based agent Mark Bartelstein has been out correcting the false reports of Thomas' death. He tells the Associated Press: "Somebody put something on a MySpace page or something like that ... and it traveled, but it's not true." Bartelstein added Thomas, who has been battling Lou Gehrig's disease for the past four years, "is "fighting like heck, and he's alive and well. He's the greatest fighter I've ever known. It's a daily, daily battle that he fights, but he's fighting it."
The report that Thomas had passed first surfaced on the Vikings Web site, and was then picked up by The Minneapolis Star Tribune, sporting news Web sites and the Associated Press. The Vikings say they based their report on information obtained from officials with UL Lafayette. A spokesperson at UL's Athletics Media Relations office this morning said he was unaware of the particulars but that "some misinformation got out somehow."
Thomas played for UL Lafayette from 1991-1994 and is one of the players on the Wall of Fame at Cajun Field. He returned to Lafayette in 2004 and was an assistant coach at Comeaux High School. That same year, he was diagnosed with ALS and is now paralyzed above the waist.
... written by colts , October 29, 2009 - 07:12 pm
Orlando Thomas, I pray that you will continue to fight and press your way through your illness. God is your Jehovah Rophe (HEALER) and by his stripes you are healed. I am encouraging you to press your way through and if you can, pray and fight the good fight of faith. To your family and those around you, pray without cease and intercede for him on his behalf. Make intercession for him, if he is unable to. I am praying for a miracle to be performed in his life, that only God can do. And to all, believe the report of the Lord and know that HIS Will will be done. Love you!
... written by chetsteadman , October 29, 2009 - 09:28 pm
^ WTF???
You must be logged in to post a comment. Log in using your Facebook account or register if you do not have an account yet.
David Calhoun and Elizabeth “EB” Brooks are the first two employees of Lafayette Central Park Inc., the nonprofit charged with turning Lafayette Consolidated Government’s 100-acre Johnston Street Horse Farm property into a passive public park. Calhoun was named executive director, and Brooks is director of planning and design.
There will soon be a whole lot of shakin’ going on at Benny’s Sportshack Supplement Depot, a new concept by Opelousas native Benny Nele. Located at 2002 Johnston St., the supplement shop, smoothie bar and café, featuring hot off the press paninis and wraps, plans to open in late May.
This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.
Subscribe to this comment's feed