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'Bigger Than Football': Tributes Pour In For James White After Father Killed In Crash

BOSTON (CBS) – Tributes poured in from around the football world Sunday after news that Patriots running back James White would miss the team's Sunday night game following a crash that killed his father and seriously injured his mother.

White's father, Tyrone, died in a crash that took place in Florida on Sunday afternoon, while his mother — who was also in the car — is in critical condition.

James White Father
Police investigate a Florida crash that killed Patriots running back James White's father. (WBZ-TV)

The Broward County Sheriff's Office announced that at 1:01 p.m. on Sunday, a motor vehicle crash took place at the 11800 block of Griffin Road in Cooper City, Florida. In the accident, one car was flipped over and another was on fire.

White was in Seattle with the Patriots, who fell just short to the Seahawks to drop to 1-1 on the year. Following the game, White planned to travel back to New England with his teammates.

Wide receiver Julian Edelman shared a photo after the game on social media with the caption "Bigger Than Football."

Devin McCourty scored the game's first points with a first quarter pick-six. As he got into the end zone he had a message for White, shouting "Two! Eight! We love you, bro! We love you!" in reference to the running back's jersey No. 28.

"My heart's been heavy for James. That's just tough. There's no words you can say. There's nothing you can do in that situation. We just wanted to go out there and really play our hearts out for him," said McCourty.

After leading his team to victory, the first thing Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson had to say was about White, who he played with at Wisconsin.

"My heart's heavy because one of my teammates, James White from Wisconsin, one of the nicest guys, teammates, one of the hardest workers, one of the best people I know, had a tough one losing his dad. I'm not sure the situation with his mom yet. My heart's been heavy all day thinking about it," Wilson told the postgame crew.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, whose mom died leading up to the game as well, was asked about a difficult week.

"Of course our hearts go out to him," Belichick said.

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