Jordan Love turned childhood tragedy into NFL triumph
GREEN BAY, Wis. (BVM) – On July 13, 2013, Jordan Love’s father, Orbin, committed suicide. Jordan was only 14 years old and was at a basketball game when his dad shot himself in their family home.
“[My aunt who picked us up] just said it straight up — that’s the only way you can be with it, I feel like,” Jordan told The Athletic in 2019. “She just told us, ‘Your dad committed suicide.’”
Jordan has made it clear that his father ultimately took his life because of improper medications – and not because of depression.
“My dad was on high blood pressure medication, [the doctors] switched his medication, it was messing with his head a little bit, it wasn’t the same and he ended up taking his own life,” Jordan said in a video for ESPN. “He passed when I was 14 – the toughest day of my life.”
Jordan also noted, “Growing up, my dad was huge – one of the biggest influences of my life. [He] was the first person to teach me how to throw a football.”
Jordan had trouble coping with his father’s death as any young child would. So, he told his mom that he wanted to quit football, but she advised him to keep going.
“After that incident with my dad, I was going back into football season (sophomore JV season),” Jordan said in a video for ESPN. “It was pretty hard. I thought about quitting. [But] it was something that my dad wanted for me to do – to play football – that’s what kept me in it.”
Despite suffering from immense tragedy, Jordan went on to rack up 2,148 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior at Liberty High School. He was listed as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and accepted his only FBS scholarship offer to Utah State.
Fast forward to 2023 – which is the 10-year anniversary since Jordan’s father passed away.
This year, Jordan has finally had the chance to take over as the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers after becoming a first-round draft pick of the team back in 2020.
In his first few starts for Green Bay, the QB has looked very promising for a franchise that is accustomed to Hall-of-Fame-level play at the position.
Overall, Jordan hasn’t let tragedy define him and his father will always be his biggest motivation behind succeeding in the NFL.
“For my family and definitely my dad,” Jordan told Bleacher Report in 2019. “The pride he would have had, I can feel it.”
“It’s motivating knowing this is what he wanted for me,” Jordan told NFL.com in 2020. “This is what he saw for me.”
