Shaq Barrett and his family have been through an unthinkable tragedy this offseason when Barrett’s two-year old daughter, Arrayah, passed away in a swimming pool drowning accident just three months ago. It’s very difficult to put into words how shocking and terrifying that news was when it came about.

Somehow, Barrett has channeled enough focus through his grief to working hard this offseason and get ready for this year. He participated in the Bucs’ offseason programs working out individually and was cleared to practice for training camp after rehabbing a torn Achilles, which pales in comparison to losing his daughter.

After Monday’s practice, Barrett spoke publicly about how he and his family have been doing since the tragic events.

Shaq Barrett Copes With Tragedy Of Daughter Arrayah Hope

“It’s a daily battle, a tough battle,” Barrett said. “I felt it heavier today than I did the last couple of days. It just comes in waves. We just talk to each other, talk through it with each other and just lean on each other to get ourselves through, and lean on the Lord, as well. It doesn’t get any easier. It’s just me being busy and keeping my mind off of it for a little bit. It’s just tough – it’s always going to be tough.”

Returning to the field has become a place of solace for Shaq Barrett. There’s no way to ever forget what he’s been through, but being at the Bucs’ facility at least takes his mind off of it for a while.

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“This morning it was hitting me hard,” Barrett said. “Getting ready for practice helped me get my mind off of it a little bit just focusing on something else.  I like that I have to do that because as hard as it is, I hate being sad and feeling down all the time, even though I do love feeling those feelings for her because she was a big part of our family. I feel like just getting out of it and having to come to practice and getting my mind off of it is good for me. I’m home enough during the days. I’ve got enough down time where I think about her all of the time, so having something to do to keep my mind off of it helps a lot.

“I’m just appreciative to be back, be able to do everything again and just do everything a little extra hard for her since she’s not able to be here. It’s just tough too because this was the first camp that she would’ve been able to come to and actually remember. I thought about that and that’s what made it a little bit harder today too because it’s the first day my family came. Having something to take my mind off of it is just [really] beneficial for me right now.”

Shaq Barrett was then asked about what Arrayah was like, discussing her smile and bright energy.

“She was the best,” Barrett said. “She was the best everything, all around – her smile, her personality. Even when she was being naughty, she still was so cute. She was smart and she knew exactly what she shouldn’t be doing. Then she would stop doing it and go back and try and do it… I could go on and on forever and ever about her. It’s just her smile I miss so much, her energy, putting her to bed every night and reading her stories. She brought so much brightness, wholeness and completeness to our lives, and we most definitely have a big, big, big hole in our hearts and our lives that we won’t be able to fill.

“But, we’ve still got our other three kids that are helping us fill the void a little and then we’ve got another baby on the way that should help a little bit too, but we know it’s never going to be the same without her. It’s always sad – she would have been the best big sister, as well. It’s just bittersweet because I know she is in a better place, but I 100 percent prefer her to be here with us, selfishly. It’s a lot. There’s just a lot that goes on throughout the day.”

The Barrett Family Welcoming Another Baby

Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

He also spoke about the strength of Jordanna and how the two of them have leaned on each other through these trying times. They’ve supported each other, recognized when they felt weak and expressed that its okay to have emotions about this situation.

“We’ve been able to come together in this tough time for our family,” Barrett said. “Honestly, everybody came together for us – locally, nationally – everybody came to be with us in our time of need. I appreciate everybody, like everybody. The Bucs organization and everybody came through with stuff that wasn’t expected. We’re very appreciative of that. Jordanna has been really strong and we’ve been able to lean on each other, but we’ve also been really weak together too.

“We’ve been sharing those tough times with each other and also have been crying on each other, talking to each other and sharing those times with the kids. Letting everybody know it’s okay to still talk about Arrayah [and] still show our emotions for her. That’s the way we need to remember her and just bring her brightness to our lives and to other people’s lives by talking about her.

He announced that the family is expecting another baby girl in February. A sign they believe doesn’t happen without Arrayah.

“It’s amazing, especially knowing that our other baby girl, Arrayah, more than likely had something to do with it,” Barrett said. “We know there is no replacing Arrayah. There is nothing ever in this world that can happen to replace our baby girl. But us having another baby girl is a super blessing because I wanted another girl really bad.

The Arrayah Hope Foundation

Bucs ILB Devin White and OLB Shaq Barrett – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And through all the darkness, the Barrett family is still going to find a way to help others and prevent anyone from going through a similar experience. The Barrett family is going to be launching a foundation called The Arrayah Hope Foundation in honor of their late daughter. Its aim is to pay for swimming lessons and articfical intelligence cameras for families. The plan is to start in Tampa and go to Colorado, where they reside, and also make it as big as they possibly can.

“I was never going to put my kids in one of those early swim classes where they just throw them in and let them figure it out, but I recommend people do that,” Shaq Barrett said. “We just started a foundation in my daughter’s name, Arrayah Hope.

“We’re going to be paying for swim lessons and we’re going to be installing… well, we’ve got an AI camera in our house now, so if a little child goes into the pool an alarm goes off. We always had gates up – we just left it open that night – but we’ve got more gates up. We’re just going to help out as much as possible with swim lessons for other families [and] installing AI cameras for other families.

“Back when I was younger, I heard a story about it happening, and it was an NFL player too. I was like, ‘Dang, how did that happen?’ It’s just a freak accident, it just happens from time to time, but now we’ve got to put up all of the precautions to prevent it from happening. The Arrayah Hope Foundation is going to be beneficial for a lot of families, I hope.”