14/06/2026
While the nation mourns the loss of Divine and Rene, and amid all the tributes, headlines, and prayers for Divine and Rene, I could not help but think about someone else who is grieving too. Their coach.
When I read Coach Tab Baldwin’s words, “I FAILED AS A LEADER. I FAILED AS A COACH. I CERTAINLY FELT LIKE I HAD FAILED AS A FRIEND TO DIVINE AND RENE.” I felt the weight behind them.
Those are not the words of a man looking for sympathy.
They are not the words of someone trying to make the tragedy about himself.
To me, they sound like the words of a leader carrying a burden that many people may never fully understand.
Perhaps that is what accountability looks like when you genuinely care about the people entrusted to you. Even when something is beyond your control, you still find yourself asking difficult questions.
Could I have done more? Was there something I missed? Was there another conversation I should have had?
I imagine that is one of the hardest parts of leadership.
The responsibility does not end when practice is over, when the game ends, or when everyone goes home.
You carry the people you lead with you. And when something happens to them, a part of that pain becomes yours as well.
What moved me most was that even in his own grief, Coach Baldwin shifted the focus back to Divine, Rene, and their families.
His concern was not about defending himself.
It was about honoring two young lives and asking how others could help bring comfort to those left behind.
Today, our thoughts and prayers rightfully belong to Divine and Rene and to the families carrying an unimaginable loss.
But perhaps we can also spare a thought for the coach who will live with the questions that follow tragedy. THE KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT MAY NEVER HAVE ANSWERS.
