Hawaii media was perhaps just too close, too much in love and too shocked to get too close to the bone in reporting the full, thorough details of former University of Hawaii football star Colt Brennan’s death.
Looking back on the tragic day of May 11, I can give kudos to Stephen Tsai at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (where I also worked from 2000 to 2020) for getting the story out there first (I think) in the nation. Great work.
I have to admit, though, it was a little weird watching how things went that day in media reports across the U.S. Of course, I am just one reader and I may not have seen everything.
But what I do recall is that the initial reports DID NOT include that he died of a fentanyl overdose. It was later in the day, hours after the first reports, that editors across the nation (it seemed to me) started to add that fentanyl fact into the original story.
Colt Brennan. (Image credit: Insider-Voice.com.)
The result of that, in my opinion, was that a lot of people reading the initial report never went back to look at that same story to notice that new facts were inserted. And then, it seemed, there was never any blaring headline, reading “Brennan dies of fentanyl overdose” … something that would have grabbed readers’ attention.
I was surprised. But, then again, my observations could be wrong.
And a fully complete, thorough follow-up to the story never seemed to come from anywhere. Early on, stories stated that Brennan was at a rehab facility when he died, and so many people were asking at the time how you can possibly overdose while you are in the middle of rehab.
And it is true that Brennan had recently been at a rehab facility, and the confusion is completely understandable. Breaking news, friends, is no easy thing. Details are often sketchy.
And that’s why my next kudos go to Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times. He explains in detail what happened to Colt Brennan in the days leading up to his death in this June 20 story: A Warrior Fallen: The Life And Death Of One-Time Hawaii Football Star Colt Brennan.
That story is the place to go for any of you who want to know with as much exactitude as possible what happened. Unlike with the Sunny Garcia incident in 2019, in which the former world champion surfer attempted to take his life, Brennan’s family was forthcoming with information.
On June 22, two days after Miller’s Brennan story ran, he followed it up with a really intimate look from Brennan’s family and friends about their thoughts on Brennan’s death: Colt Brennan’s Family, Friends And Coaches Talk About What Was Lost.
Interestingly, the Times then followed up that story with some of Miller’s thoughts and experiences while writing the Brennan story: Reflections On An Emotional Story About A Football Star’s Tragic Downfall.
“I’ve been doing this for more than 30 years and I’ve never had a story that got more reaction from everybody than this one,” Miller tells fellow Times reporter Justin Ray.
And if anyone wants a great summation of just what Hawaii lost, once again Miller gets it just right with this quote from former UH assistant coach Rich Miano:
“We’ve lost a beautiful person. There will never be another Colt Brennan in Hawaii history. … People say he was the greatest player ever at Hawaii. How do you argue that? He was.”
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ALSO at BedrockSportsHawaii.com: Team USA Swimming Soaked Up Some Aloha In Hawaii Before Arriving In Tokyo For Olympics
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