Henley plays on for Chargers after brother's death

NASHVILLE, Tenn -- Loud bangs awoke linebacker Daiyan Henley on Saturday morning. Henley thought he had overslept a meeting and rushed to the door of his hotel room.

Standing outside was linebacker Denzel Perryman, who told Henley he needed to call his mother. When Henley did, he learned the most harrowing news of his life: his brother, Jabari Henley, was shot and killed the previous night.

"Being transparent, I dropped to my knees," Henley said.

Henley said he never considered sitting out Sunday's game. It ended up being one of his better performances, as he finished with a sack, a pass deflection and seven tackles in the Los Angeles Chargers' 27-20 win over the Tennessee Titans.

After the game, Henley sat at his locker with a towel over his head as teammates consoled him. He posted a photo on his Instagram story with his eyes welling with tears and the caption, "love you big bro."

Safety Derwin James said he kept an eye on Henley from the pregame warmups to the national anthem and throughout to ensure that if he needed any support, he was there for him.

"That kid's been through so much, man," James said. "He's our green dot, our leader, our captain, and just being able to battle, bro, that's tough. And for him to go out there, man, I got so much respect for him."

When Henley sacked Titans quarterback Cam Ward in the second quarter, he dropped to his knees and began to pray.

"I just wanted to talk to my brother one more time," Henley said. "It was just an emotional moment for me just to be able to make a play on a day like this, just losing him so soon. Like I said, it's been a long year for me, so I had to just send a prayer up and just hopefully heard it."

Jabari Henley was fatally shot shortly after 11 p.m. local time in south Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Norma Eisenman told ESPN. A preliminary investigation found that he was shot multiple times while approaching a vehicle. The suspects fled and no arrests have been made, Eisenman said.

Officers attempted to render aid to Henley, but paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, according to Eisenman. Henley was 34.

Daiyan Henley said that Jabari was his best friend and one of the few people who he would answer the phone for, no matter the reason. Henley grew up with three siblings, two older brothers, Jabari and Michael, and a younger sister, Cherysh.

"That's like my best friend," Henley said. "I called him a protector. One thing, he was a protector of our family."

It's been a nightmare year for Henley.

In March, his father, Eugene "Big U" Henley, a first-generation Rollin' 60's Crip leader-turned-music executive, was arrested and charged with 43 counts of running a criminal enterprise that committed a series of racketeering crimes, including extortion, human trafficking, fraud, and the 2021 murder of a rap artist. Eugene Henley has denied the allegations.

Daiyan Henley said he spoke with his father, who encouraged him to play Sunday and channel the rage he had been feeling.

"I had a lot of pain, man, a lot of pain," Henley said. "I just wanted to go out there and just let it out, whatever I had to get out."

In addition, ahead of the Chargers' Week 2 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Henley got an infection, lost 10 pounds and had to use an oxygen tank throughout the game. The infection lasted multiple weeks, and Henley's play declined.

But Henley has returned to his normal self in recent weeks -- although now must play the rest of this season dealing with the death of his best friend.

"As traumatizing as all this is, I got a job to do," Henley said. "For me, it was coming out here and handling a job first and then being emotional after, and everything hit me pretty hard.

"It's probably been the worst year of my life, to be quite honest with you."