LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Former University of Louisville running back T.C. Stallings said via Facebook video Thursday that his mother, Sylvia Thompson, has died from complications of COVID-19 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Stallings wrote his name in Louisville football lore with his 25-yard overtime touchdown run against Kentucky to secure an upset win for the Cardinals in 2000. He has lived and worked in California as a pastor, actor and author for more than a decade.
"I wanted to just say thank you for all for the kind words and condolences that you have extended to me and my family," Stallings said via Facebook. "A lot of my family is in Cleveland, and I’m in southern California. It’s tough to be experiencing this from so far away, with the travel being very, very difficult. Just continue to pray for my Cleveland family as well as myself."
Stallings wrote of his mother several years back, "Without my mother having the extreme love for me that she did, it would have been very difficult to be where I am today. It would have been a much harder road to find Christ! Her heart for me helped pave the way. She wanted the best for me, my life, and future. I'm forever grateful for my mother."
Stallings said his mother's death brings home the threat that everyone faces during the pandemic, and he had a message for friends.
"I just want to tell everybody to continue to be safe," he said. "It is a real thing. You know, sometimes you don’t think it could be you or someone you love, and it obviously can be. But the greatest thing about all this for me and my family is that my mother knew Jesus and for that reason I know I’ll see her again. It has been my strength and the thing that gives me peace."
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