Not because of the show because I love the show. I have only watched it twice and now I am hooked. However, tonight's show made me feel sick to my stomach. I knew that one of the Contender's committed suicide, but I had no idea who or under what circumstances. It is absolutely tragic to see an individual take his own life that has a beautiful 2 year old daughter and wife that obviously loves him very much and over something so insignificant. He said he refused to let his daughter see him fail, but this is the worst failure of them all. I had forgotten until the end that tonight's show was a tribute a deceased fighter. I never thought it would be him because he looked like a good father and his daughter was his whole world. After he lost the fight and hung up his gloves, I found myself saying out loud that you can't be the one that kills yourself, you have a daughter. Just sad.
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I feel sickened after watching the Contender
- Thread starter jlindy
- Start date
Was that tonight???? I saw the fight where the black guy was fighting the hispanic guy. The black guy was the one who killed himself? I saw the fight up until round 4 and then got sidetracked by my dinner, inlaws, etc. I didn't realize that it was one of those fighters that killed themselves.
DAM!!
You went and pimped the show.
It hasn't come on yet on the West Coast.
However, I agree with your statement. for someone who didn't want to fail, suicide is the biggest failure of all.
You went and pimped the show.
It hasn't come on yet on the West Coast.
However, I agree with your statement. for someone who didn't want to fail, suicide is the biggest failure of all.
Casper91 said:DAM!!
You went and pimped the show.
It hasn't come on yet on the West Coast.
However, I agree with your statement. for someone who didn't want to fail, suicide is the biggest failure of all.
Sorry about that. I didn't realize that there was a delay, but it's not like I spoiled the ending because every paper talked about this tragic event, so you knew it was coming. I just didn't know anything about him and his background. Very sad.
I agree it is sad. This guy has been through alot in his life. Not saying it's an excuse, but it's impossible for anyone to even try and understand. Here is the official statment from the NBC/Contendor website.
On Monday February, 14 the Contender family was
deeply saddened by the passing of one of our own, Najai Turpin.
Born and raised in a tough neighborhood in Philadelphia, Najai came from humble beginnings. From an early age, the soft spoken Najai saw boxing as an alternative to poverty and hardship. By becoming a successful boxing champion, Najai hoped he could provide a better life for himself, his family and especially his pride and joy, daughter Anyae.
At the young age of eighteen, Najai suddenly became the man of the house, when his mother passed away. He then had the additional responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings. In order to provide for his family, he not only juggled several jobs at once but with fierce determination, also managed to squeeze in time to train at his neighborhood gym.
The means streets of his Philly neighborhood had recently dealt Najai another obsticale when he was carjacked at gunpoint and robbed of several hundred dollars in cash. Frustrated and thinking of revenge, he suddenly had a change of heart when the acceptance package from The Contender arrived at his door. Seeing his participation in the show as an opportunity to prove himself, Najai strongly believed it was a sign from God and “He was letting me know he had my back the whole time.”
Against what seemed like insurmountable odds, Najai persevered and at the age of 23, had risen to prominence as a promising young fighter with a 13-1-0 record, that included 9 knock outs. Often called the “total package” he was respected by his pears for his dignity, his dedication to his family and his deep passion for the sport of boxing.
"Najai embodied the "Rocky" spirit as a Philly fighter from humble beginnings. In addition to being phenomenal fighter in the ring, he was a beautiful person outside the ring. My thoughts are with his loved ones." –Sly Stallone
"My heart goes out to Najai's family in this time of tragedy. Najai was a wonderful kid with alot of heart. He was a soft spoken young man who was both a talented boxer and also respected by his peers on the show. Everyone is highly distraught over this loss - he will be missed." –Sugar Ray Leonard
"All of us at Contender mourn the loss of a great fighter with tremendous heart and hearts go out to Najai's family in this time of courage. His death comes as a shock to all of us. We all came to love Najai and the episode in which he was most depicted will stand as a wonderful testament to who he was - it will not be changed. The Contender is about giving young men a chance to make a better life for themselves and their families. Our tragedy." –Mark Burnett
If you wish to donate to a fund for Najai's daughter, make all checks payable to the Anyae Chapple Trust
J.P. Morgan Trust Company, N.A.
1999 Avenue of the Stars, 26th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Attn: Fiduciary Services Dept.
On Monday February, 14 the Contender family was
deeply saddened by the passing of one of our own, Najai Turpin.
Born and raised in a tough neighborhood in Philadelphia, Najai came from humble beginnings. From an early age, the soft spoken Najai saw boxing as an alternative to poverty and hardship. By becoming a successful boxing champion, Najai hoped he could provide a better life for himself, his family and especially his pride and joy, daughter Anyae.
At the young age of eighteen, Najai suddenly became the man of the house, when his mother passed away. He then had the additional responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings. In order to provide for his family, he not only juggled several jobs at once but with fierce determination, also managed to squeeze in time to train at his neighborhood gym.
The means streets of his Philly neighborhood had recently dealt Najai another obsticale when he was carjacked at gunpoint and robbed of several hundred dollars in cash. Frustrated and thinking of revenge, he suddenly had a change of heart when the acceptance package from The Contender arrived at his door. Seeing his participation in the show as an opportunity to prove himself, Najai strongly believed it was a sign from God and “He was letting me know he had my back the whole time.”
Against what seemed like insurmountable odds, Najai persevered and at the age of 23, had risen to prominence as a promising young fighter with a 13-1-0 record, that included 9 knock outs. Often called the “total package” he was respected by his pears for his dignity, his dedication to his family and his deep passion for the sport of boxing.
"Najai embodied the "Rocky" spirit as a Philly fighter from humble beginnings. In addition to being phenomenal fighter in the ring, he was a beautiful person outside the ring. My thoughts are with his loved ones." –Sly Stallone
"My heart goes out to Najai's family in this time of tragedy. Najai was a wonderful kid with alot of heart. He was a soft spoken young man who was both a talented boxer and also respected by his peers on the show. Everyone is highly distraught over this loss - he will be missed." –Sugar Ray Leonard
"All of us at Contender mourn the loss of a great fighter with tremendous heart and hearts go out to Najai's family in this time of courage. His death comes as a shock to all of us. We all came to love Najai and the episode in which he was most depicted will stand as a wonderful testament to who he was - it will not be changed. The Contender is about giving young men a chance to make a better life for themselves and their families. Our tragedy." –Mark Burnett
If you wish to donate to a fund for Najai's daughter, make all checks payable to the Anyae Chapple Trust
J.P. Morgan Trust Company, N.A.
1999 Avenue of the Stars, 26th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Attn: Fiduciary Services Dept.
What is the contender...and yes, that story is very sad 
squid2004
Guest
Of all the reality crap that is out there, I gotta say I love this show. Man I was in tears at the end when they showed it was him who commited suicide, I didn't know who it was. I thought it might have been manfredo because he took his loss so hard.
This guy seemed to be down but got back up and was playing with his daughter and whatnot.
But it did seem like that last round he had just given up. What a sad story.
This guy seemed to be down but got back up and was playing with his daughter and whatnot.
But it did seem like that last round he had just given up. What a sad story.
What an asshole. I have no sympathy for anyone that kills themself. He was an irresponsible piece of shit. The man had a 2 year old daughter.
nsxlover said:
That's so easy for anyone on the outside looking in to say. You have no idea what kind of problems he had going on. Was killing himself the answer to solving those problems? Aboslutely not. But I don't think you need to pass judgement on him for anything he has ever done. And I don't think that anyone was asking for you to give him sympathy.
