Texas high school football team mourns death of teammate, 16, who died in his twin brother’s arms

Members of a north Texas high school football team spent Sunday afternoon grieving the sudden and mysterious loss of one of their teammates who family members say dropped dead for no apparent reason two days earlier.

Deshaud ‘De (Dee)’ Williams, 16, was playing tag with his fraternal twin brother Dashaud ‘Dae Dae (Day Day)’ Williams and a friend late Friday night when he abruptly became short of breath, according to his sibling.

‘We started jogging a little bit more and he was like, “Dae, I can’t breathe,”‘ Dashaud told KXAS-TV as he struggled to fight back tears. ‘I was like, “You good? Come on. We’re almost at home.” And he was like, “Dae, I can’t breathe. I’m fittin’ to pass out.” And I ran back to him and he dropped to his knees and fell on his back.’

Dae Dae said his brother started foaming at the mouth, so he turned him on his side to keep him from choking before called 911 on his cellphone.

Dee lost consciousness in his brother’s arms, his brother said. Emergency responders transported the teen to Medical City Lewisville hospital where he was pronounced dead, family members said. 

A Facebook photo of Deshaud ‘De’ Williams (left) and his fraternal twin brother Dashaud ‘Dae Dae’ Williams (right) with a school mate

Dae Dae said his brother started foaming at the mouth Friday night, so he turned him on his side to keep him from choking before called 911 on his cellphone. Dee was pronounced dead around 10.30pm at Medical City Lewisville hospital

Dee’s brother Dae Dae (left) and mother, Razel Sheppard (right), 37, attended a memorial service hosted by Dee’s high school football teammates at a park in Lewisville, Texas Sunday

Doctors declined to provide a preliminary cause of death. The results of an autopsy performed on Saturday have not been released.

Dee played defensive tackle for the Lewisville High School Fighting Farmers. His team tweeted out condolences expressing their pain Saturday afternoon.

‘Today our hearts are broken,’ the tweet read. ‘Please keep the Fighting Farmer community in your prayers as we mourn the loss of a student athlete.’ 

Dee’s mother, Razel Sheppard, 37, said her son had a physical that included a heart test in May and to her knowledge he did not suffer from any debilitating conditions or abnormalities.

‘He’s never been sick. … He was a healthy all-around kid,’ Sheppard said.

Dee’s mother, Razel Sheppard (right) said her son had a physical that included a heart test in May and to her knowledge he did not suffer from any debilitating conditions or abnormalities

Mourners grieve the death of Dee Williams at a Sunday memorial service in Lewisville, Texas

Dee was a Merit Roll student originally from Chagrin Falls, Ohio – located in the Cleveland metro area – who loved to cook and dreamed of one day being a chef.

His teammates released balloons while standing in a local park to honor him while mourning his death on Sunday.

‘He will always be in our hearts,’ Dee’s friend and teammate Darren Johnson told reporters. ‘He would motivate you. When he was tired, we would pick him up and when we were tired, he would pick us up. There was no better friend you could have.’ 

A GoFundMe page has been created to help Dee’s family cover travel and funeral arrangements not included in his life insurance policy. His family is from Cleveland and plans to host his funeral there before having him buried in a local cemetery.

Dee’s mother still has questions about how her son died that she’s counting on having resolved by his autopsy.

‘Hopefully we’ll get answers,’ she said.