College Football Player Accompanied By Dogs Onto Field After Parents Die Before Senior Day

Josh Butler, Michigan State Spartans, Football, 2018
Photo credit (Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

The last home game of a college football team's season is traditionally the day when all the seniors on the team are acknowledged and recognized.

It's also a day when the player's parents are invited to accompany their son onto the field, so they can be recognized as well.

Unfortunately, Michigan State Spartan's cornerback Josh Butler lost both of his parents before the team's Senior Day.  

Butler was not alone when he walked onto the field, however.  Butler made his final extrance into Spartan Stadium accompanied by his two pups, Roxy and Remi.

Butler's father died in November 2017, just before he played in a game against Penn State, and his mother Ladrida Bagley died in April 2019 after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.  

Butler received his undergraduate degree last December, and is set to receive his master’s degree in media and information this month. He said his dogs and his teammates have helped him work through his grief, and focus on the good in his life, as well.  He told the Lansing State Journal, "We talk about the sadness and the negativity about a lot of things because that’s what they remember the most, but there’s also positivity behind any story.  There’s always a rise after the fall."

Via Fox 8