Late Tuesday night, many Rams players were ready for bed when the texts started coming in, and the rumors popped up on social media.
“You hope it’s a rumor,” defensive end Chris Long said. “You hear crazy stuff all the time on the Internet.”
Stedman Bailey has been shot.
“When I first heard, I couldn’t believe it,” Long said. “I didn’t know the severity of it. Obviously, when you hear that somebody took a gunshot wound to the head, you never know how serious that can be.”
Defensive end Williams Hayes started getting texts as well, and phoned coach Jeff Fisher with just one question: Is it true?