Another dark day for former Sooner
Eric Thunander’s life has been filled with many sad chapters.
The latest, though, is the worst.
On Tuesday, the former Oklahoma linebacker was arrested and charged with three counts of lewd acts with a child and one count of possessions of child pornography. Those are felony charges. Those are serious crimes.
According to a court affidavit, Thunander confessed to inappropriately touching a 9-year-old girl on three occasions.
My reporter-source relationship with Thunander pre-dates my time in Oklahoma. I first met him in 1998 when he was a standout at Lee’s Summit High School in suburban Kansas City and I was a high school sports columnist at The Kansas City Star. He had the most unbelievable story — a deaf kid who’d lived in a sexual-abusive, drug-infested home but found solace on the football field.
In early 1999, Thunander committed to play at Oklahoma.
In late 1999, I moved to The Oklahoman.
I had a chance to write about him when he played as a true freshman in 1999, when he became a key reserve on the Sooners’ 2000 national championship team, then when his career was cut short by an inner-ear injury in 2001. The next time I saw Thunander was last summer when he was getting ready to release an autobiography, “Silent Thunder.” It turned out that much had happened in those seven years in between.
Thunander had battled depression, alcohol abuse and even drug use. He contemplated suicide.
But last summer, he was clean and sober and happy. As he went around the state selling his book and telling his story, he said it was the first time he’d been happy in many years. And I was happy for him.
How could you not be?
So to wake this morning to the news that Thunander had been arrested and is now in jail waiting arraignment was sad. The arch of his life story has had many peaks and valleys, but none of the dark days were any darker than this. None of the chapters were any worse.
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Comments
I have known Eric for the past couple of years, he became fast friends with my Dad and in turn was welcomed into our family as if he was one of our own. I am so disgusted to learn about what he has done. In my time with him it was easy to notice that he was self destructive at times, but I never thought that his sad past would catch up to him so horribly. I was so proud to learn that he was doing well promoting his book and it seemed that he was on the right track.
As I sit here after laying my daughter down to sleep, all I can think of is that poor little girl. Shame on him for putting her through that! There is no excuse for what he did! No one should be praising him for what he has done in the past. What matters is what he has done now.
He has failed himself and failed all of us who have supported him and tried to help him out. My parents have done so many things for him as I’m sure so many others have. It’s so sad that someone who has had so many chances in life to better himself, could still not escape his inner demons.
Let’s not waste any more time talking about how great Eric Thunander once was, let’s instead pray for the little girl who’s life was forever changed by him. Just like his life was forever changed when he was a child by much worse.
I am glad to know that the vicious cycle is stopped with him being incarcerated, and I am glad he was man enough to admit what he did and take responsibility.
May God be with all of those involved.
Whoops….. guess he missed the lecture on dont touch little children….