Giants draft pick Corey Ballentine remembers lost friend Dwane Simmons in Twitter post
Washburn defensive back Corey Ballentine runs a drill at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on March 4, 2019. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy
Giants draft pick Corey Ballentine, who was shot and injured over the weekend, posted a memorial to college teammate Dwane Simmons on Twitter on Monday afternoon. Simmons, a junior at Washburn, was shot and killed in the same incident that left Ballentine wounded and hospitalized.
“God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers,” Ballentine wrote above four pictures of himself with Simmons and others. “I love you forever. Thank you for being a true friend who uplifted me, corrected me when i was in the wrong, and accepted my flaws. Thank you for being a brother to me. Thank you for letting me experience your life.”
Ballentine remains in a hospital recovering from his non-life-threatening wound. According to the NFL Network, Ballentine was shot in the gluteal muscle. He is expected to make a full recovery.
“We spoke to him on Sunday,” Giants general manager Dave Gettleman said of Ballentine on SiriusXM’s NFL Radio on Monday. “He’s coming along fine. He’ll be here Thursday for the minicamp this weekend.”
Gettleman added that the Giants think highly of Ballentine’s character.
“He’s a really bright kid and he’s a great kid,” he said. “What happened is tragic and unfortunate. I mean, that’s his best friend he was with.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
