‘A wonderful person’: West Virginia State University president speaks on death of Jyilek Harrington

INSTITUTE, WV (WOWK) – Two universities who faced off on the football field Friday are mourning the death of a football player who has played for both schools.

Jyilek Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina was shot and killed in Charleston Wednesday night. He was a West Virginia State University and a linebacker for the Yellow Jackets.

West Virginia State University President Ericke Cage spoke with Nexstar’s WOWK on Harrington’s character, saying he was a wonderful person with a bright future.

“He was a natural leader, someone around the team that folks gravitated around. We know he was a spiritual man, he led the team in a lot of their prayers during practices. Just a wonderful person, someone who cared deeply about West Virginia State University, about West Virginia State University football. He was someone who had a very very bright future ahead of him,” said Cage.

WVSU was originally scheduled to play their first home game of the season on Thursday against Harrington’s previous team, the Carson-Newman University Eagles. That game was moved to Friday at noon so the two teams could come together for a candlelight vigil to honor Harrington’s memory.

“I had the opportunity to speak with the football players yesterday, and I can tell you that all of them are deeply, deeply devastated by the loss of Jyilek. Here at the university we want to make sure they have the support they need, not just from counseling, but from faculty and staff and from the administration, we want them to know that we are here for them,” said Cage.

Cage also said that their student counseling team has opened their doors to classmates and teammates alike to help them process the loss of their dear friend.

To honor Harrington’s memory, WVSU and Carson-Newman held a moment of silence before kickoff. WVSU players also had Harrington’s #22 on their helmets, while Carson-Newman had #31 on their helmets, which was Harrington’s number when he played for the Eagles.

Harrington was known for starting GoFundMe campaigns during the Christmas season in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, to help struggling families buy Christmas presents. Cage said that they have started a memorial fund to continue his work.

“We are going to continue that legacy by setting up a memorial fund, which was set up yesterday, and it has already raised a significant amount of funds. Those resources will be used to support Jyilek’s family as they are going through this period of incredible grief, but also to help support those in the community,” said Cage.

If you would like to contribute to Harrington’s memorial fund, you can find the page to donate by clicking here.

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