Community gathers for balloon release to honor coach killed in I-65 shooting
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Richard Donnell Hamilton known to the kids he coached on the Indy Steelers as Coach Nell was honored at the Martin Luther King Community Center in Indianapolis with a balloon release in Steelers colors on Martin Luther King Day.
The coach was a man known for changing lives in the fight against gun violence as a mentor for countless kids on his football team.
The Johnson County coroner says the 43-year-old was shot and killed on I-65 near County Line Road on Wednesday night.
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Damon Lee, Coach Nell’s cousin, said, “Coach Nell like every coach has a no-excuses policy and hold yourself accountable. Just because he’s gone, do not forget the lessons through him. Those lessons should stay in the kids and this community forever.”
Hamilton gave kids in the Butler Tarkington neighborhood a place to be kids and grow with experienced mentors guiding them on and off the field.
“It wasn’t just about wins and trophies, yeah we did a lot of winning, we won a lot of championships but the most important thing to me was the bonds we had with a lot of these young men that we coached,” said Darryl Smith Sr., an Indy Steelers coach.
Smith coached with Hamilton from the early days of the team. Smith said the unique name, Coach Nell, came to be when they decided they wanted to stick out because there were too many “Colts teams” in the city.
Keshawm Bartlett, a former Indy Steelers player, said, “It meant a lot. It made me want to do something different. It made me want to become something more and it taught me a lot. Like they say he always spoke on accountability.”
The loss of Hamilton leaves a hole in the community.
“We’re missing a great patriarch of this Butler Tarkington community and not just the community but the state. We’ve had the privilege of coaching kids from all over the city not just from this area,” Smith said. “But when it comes to talking about the impact of his loss it’s kinda unmeasurable because it wasn’t just about football, we’re a family.”
“This is not the time to break down, this is the time to stay strong because Coach Nell was strong,” Lee said.
The event brought out hundreds of community members to honor his life.
The person responsible for killing Hamilton has not yet been caught.
