Friend’s death weighs on Hoover
Fatal stabbing of former teammate last week resonates with Eskimos’ DB
It was with a heavy heart Jordan Hoover has joined his Edmonton Eskimos teammates for a three-day mini-camp at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
One week ago, his former college teammate and friend, Lam Diing, died in hospital after being stabbed in the neck in Kitchener, Ont.
“Tragic,” said Hoover, who played three years alongside Diing with the University of Waterloo Warriors. “There’s only one man in my life, in my respect, quicker than Lam, and that was my dad.
“He came from Africa, Sudan, to come to Kitchener with his family. He escaped all that civil warfare and whatever it is to come to a place like Canada that’s safe and at peace, and then this happens to him. It just absolutely breaks my heart.”
The two became fast friends on the football field, if not immediately.
“The first time I met Lam, he was a rookie at Waterloo training camp and I was this all-star halfback, and I thought I was the big guy on campus,” recalled Hoover, a six-foottwo, 190-pound native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. “The play went to the far side, and I’m just baby-jogging and he came and earholed me.
“We had a little scrap, and after practice, I said, ‘I like you. It doesn’t matter who I am and what you think, you’ve got something to prove.’
“Lam will always embody what a true ( Waterloo) Warrior is to me to the core. If I had to give one face to that true Warrior name, it would be Lam Diing, absolutely.”
Diing was in his third year in the Faculty of Arts at Waterloo. Whether it was in his studies or on the field, Hoover said he didn’t take anything for granted and was always appreciative of the opportunities before him.
“Because he was a receiver and I was a DB, we’d pick each other’s brains,” said Hoover, who was drafted in the fourth round (31st overall) by the Eskimos last year. “We’d say, ‘What can I do to beat you?’ He’d say, ‘What can I do to help you?’ He was always willing to get better and do whatever he could do to help you as a teammate.
“He was truly your brother. He wasn’t just your teammate, he was family and it’s just absolutely tragic.”
Diing had been attending a gathering at a house before police were called about an altercation outside shortly after midnight on April 15.
He was bleeding from a stab wound that ultimately proved fatal.
Nicholas Salim Ndayisenga, 22, faces a charge of second-degree murder.
“Fortunately, they got the guy and everything,” said Hoover, who still has difficulty wrapping his mind around how something like this could have happened. “You’re hearing stories, this, that, unfortunately, we might never know the true story.
“But at least we’ve got some sort of closure.”
Hoover will return to attend the funeral following Eskimos minicamp.
“Because of the incident and how it happened, the services and everything got pushed back,” Hoover said.
“We were very close. I played three years with him, and being on opposite sides of the ball, the only people probably closer are my own DBs from Waterloo, but I was nervous I wasn’t going to be able to attend any services.
“But fortunately, they’ll be later this week, so I’ll be home and I’m going to spend some time with my Waterloo family and just grieve and celebrate his life.”
Camp notes: The Eskimos’ defence had their way with the offence in one-on-one coverage drills Monday, winning by a score of 17-7. While pushups were on the line, which the offence immediately paid on the field afterward, there is no telling what side bets might have been placed in Sin City … Two days into mini-camp and the Eskimos already made a roster swap, with Texas Tech defensive end Zachary Barnes Jr. coming in and Devante (Speedy) Noil making an exit.