Henry Ruggs’ Alabama hometown hurting following fatal crash

The townspeople were thrilled to see him represent Montgomery as a wide receiver with the Raiders, on the grandest stage in sports.

His childhood best friend, Roderic Scott, had perished in a car accident on the way to a basketball game in Birmingham during Ruggs’ junior year of high school. In response, Ruggs dedicated his career to Scott, even announcing his commitment to the Crimson Tide in an emotional video filmed near his late friend’s grave. He’d salute him after every touchdown, pointing three fingers toward the sky in homage to Scott’s basketball number.

That Ruggs too would end up in a fatal car crash that would claim a life seemed inconceivable.

His mother, Nataki, who still lives in Ruggs’ childhood home, said he was so traumatized by Scott’s death that he refused to drive until the end of his senior year, relying on his siblings for transportation instead. Those who knew him said Ruggs didn’t have a penchant for reckless behavior. Didn’t party or need to indulge in alcohol to enjoy himself.

His mother tried not to cry as she declined a formal interview request, citing advisement from her son’s legal team as she stood near the doorway of her modest ranch-style home.

Tina Tintor, a 23-year-old woman, lost her life in the crash. Ruggs lost part of his, too.

Alabama’s capital city is struggling to understand why he was driving his sports car 156 mph with a blood alcohol content twice Nevada’s legal limit. Tintor and her dog Max were killed after Ruggs’ Chevrolet Corvette Stingray struck her Toyota RAV4 near Rainbow Boulevard and Spring Valley Parkway, Las Vegas police said.

Ruggs, 22, was charged with two counts of DUI and two counts of reckless driving resulting in death and a misdemeanor gun charge. His girlfriend and mother of his 18-month-old daughter, Rudy Washington, was also injured.

Within hours of the crash, the Raiders released him, 19 months after selecting him in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.

The pain from the crash is still too raw for many to talk publicly about. Administrators at his high school didn’t want to speak on it. Neither did his family, his friends or his high school football coach, Tyrone Rogers, all of whom either declined or did not respond to interview requests.

But privately, the crash and the dangers of drinking and driving are what those who live in Montgomery are thinking and talking about.

“It’ll make you think the next time because now you actually know somebody who this has happened to,” said Andrew Chatmon, who befriended Ruggs this year as the manager of a bowling alley which Ruggs frequently visited. “When it’s someone you know, it makes you take a step back and think harder.”

A hometown hurting

Some 1,870 miles away from the bright lights of Las Vegas sits Montgomery, a town quite quaint in comparison but with a seminal role in American history. It’s where civil rights icon Rosa Parks refused in 1954 to switch seats on a city bus, thereby igniting the Montgomery bus boycott and amplifying the intensity of the civil rights movement.

She’s immortalized with a bronze statue outside the state capitol and a museum honoring her role in the movement. Another museum details the brutal history of American slavery. Yet a Confederate flag still flies a few miles away, draped alongside nearby Interstate 85.

Ruggs found refuge on the football fields, basketball courts, baseball diamonds and bowling alleys — Bowlero on Eastern Boulevard being the most spectacular. The alley has dozens of lanes, all adorned with giant television screens that rest atop the pins. The flashing lights and sound effects of the arcade add to the festive atmosphere.

It’s the kind of place just right for a fun Friday or Saturday night.

But on this particular Tuesday afternoon, it’s empty — save for a father and his two sons, who ordered food after a soccer game. And for a trio of employees, who call Ruggs “family.” The local football star would spend four or five nights a week there this past offseason, bowling and eating pizza with his friends.

Reveling in the comfort of his hometown. In the innocence he’s since lost in Las Vegas.

Chatmon said he observed a humble, unassuming NFL star. There was nothing flashy or flamboyant about his persona. Nothing arrogant or off-putting. He didn’t seek attention or approval from the public but was courteous with his time when the public wanted it.

As the pride of the city’s sporting scene, Ruggs would return home during breaks while playing at Alabama, buying mouthpieces and other athletic accessories from the same local sporting goods store he had shopped at since he was in elementary school.

A football he autographed still sits on a shelf behind the cash register, where the store’s owners hoped it would inspire the next generation of Montgomery’s athletes. The mere mention of his name brings a cashier to tears, triggering memories of the boy who wanted only to enjoy the sports he loved and the man who was living out his lifelong dream in Las Vegas.

Sports journalist Rodney Orr has covered Alabama’s football program for more than 20 years and covered Ruggs when he wasn’t but a prospect, still playing for Lee. He does a weekly segment for a Montgomery radio station, and he said the crash “was really a surprise” considering Ruggs’ reputation in the community.

“It just goes to show you that one poor decision can wreck a guy who has an impeccable record previously,” Orr said. “I’d tell you if I heard something behind the scenes with Henry, but I’d never heard an inkling of trouble with Henry Ruggs.”

A cautionary tale

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is approximately 100 miles from Montgomery. Home to the University of Alabama, where Ruggs solidified himself as a star and future millionaire. The crash is reverberating throughout the scenic campus, but not the way it is in Montgomery.

The Crimson Tide are the No. 2 team in the College Football Playoff rankings, and the pursuit of yet another national championship is a welcome distraction amid the sobering reality that Ruggs is facing.

“People are kind of moving on toward the season. That’s only natural,” Orr said. “At the same time, I think every time this comes up. The name comes up. Henry’s name comes up. People are wanting to know what’s the latest and what the impact is going to be for him because it doesn’t sound very promising.”

Ruggs’ college coach, Nick Saban, expressed his feelings rather plainly, but only after expressing concern for the victims. He explained that Ruggs “never had any issues” and was a “first-class citizen” during his time with the Crimson Tide. One he never had to summon into his office during his three years with the program.

“I hate it for him,” said Saban, a man famed as much for his discipline and mentorship as he is for his six national championships, “but we’re also very sensitive to the decision that he made and the catastrophic consequence to other folks that he created, and what it’s going to create for him in his future as well.”

Ruggs was a part of one of those national championship teams — winning a title during his freshman season of 2017 alongside players such as Tua Tagovailoa and DeVonta Smith, who publicly shared sympathy for Tintor and support for their former teammate during news conferences with their respective NFL teams.

Another former teammate, Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III, was a freshman when Ruggs was in his final season with the Crimson Tide and remembered his friend as humble and kind. Metchie said he knows he can’t control what the outsiders say or think about a man they’ve never met.

He also recognizes the reality of the tragic situation and knows there’s nothing he can do but learn from Ruggs’ missteps at this point.

“If something like that can happen to Henry, it can definitely happen to anybody,” Metchie said, extending sympathy for Tintor and her loved ones. “It’s taking that lesson and moving forward, being even more cautious in situations like that. … He’s one of the most conscious and caring people we know. … It’s just one of those things where he’s always going to be family. I’m always going to ride with him forever.”

So, too, are the rest of Ruggs’ supporters, and he has a city filled with them. They’re hurt. Surprised. Saddened. Disappointed.

They’re also feverishly loyal to their brother, their friend. And they won’t abandon their hometown hero during the hardest time of his life.

“He’s a son of Montgomery, and like family, folks make mistakes. You help them get through it,” Chatmon said. “You can make a mistake, and you learn.

“Right now, I just want to pray for him. That he heals physically and mentally. It’s going to be a long road back for him.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.