Jordan Magee has plenty of memories of Troy Haynes from his childhood, but his favorites are of them being on the field competing against one another.
"He was a great kid; a great athlete," Magee said. "We had some good battles in high school."
Magee, who played at Dover High School in Delaware, and Haynes, a quarterback at Woodbridge High School, had known each other since middle school and connected over their shared competitive drives on the field. Magee and Dover suffered losses to Haynes' Raiders during his sophomore and junior seasons but got revenge as a senior by handing Haynes and Woodbridge one of only two losses that year.
Sadly, Haynes' promising career was cut short when he was diagnosed with Renal Medullary Carcinoma -- a rare form of kidney cancer that affects African Americans who have the sickle cell trait -- in 2019. Haynes passed away from the disease later that year, but Magee is continuing the fight to raise awareness and honor Haynes' memory by representing the "Fight Like 4 Fund for Troy Haynes" for this year's "My Cause, My Cleats" initiative.
"He was a good kid, and he didn't get to live his life to the fullest," Magee said. "So, I wanted to remember him for that."
Haynes was described as a "winner" dating back to his days in Pop Warner. Woodbridge won 40 games during his four years and won two state championships in 2016 and 2018. Haynes was one of the catalysts for Woodbridge's success, accounting for 3,974 yards and 66 touchdowns.
Haynes experienced what he described as "a terrible pain" while visiting his grandmother's house in 2019. He visited a urologist in Dover and later a doctor in Philadelphia before receiving his diagnosis. It began a long journey full of various treatments to stop the spread of the disease. He had one of his kidneys removed and underwent other surgeries as the cancer spread to his organs.
Still, Haynes didn't let the disease stop him from experiencing life. He went back to Woodbridge High School to graduate in June of that year and walked across the stage, despite arriving in a wheelchair. The original plan was for Woodbridge football coach Jed Bell to push Haynes across the field for members of the school to hand him the diploma, but Haynes told Bell, "I want to prove to everybody I can do this."
That's the kind of thing Magee and Haynes' loved one had come to expect from him.
"He had that competitive drive, and he fought to the end," Magee said. "That's a testament to who he is and who he was."
As Haynes continued to fight, Magee and thousands of people rallied to support him. He received donations from schools, churches, local businesses and several individual donations to help pay for his medical expenses. "Fight Like 4" t-shirts and wristbands were distributed across the state. Eight hundred shirts were sold in three days, and his GoFundMe page raised more than $45,000.
The NFL jumped in on the support for Haynes as well. He got visits from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and tight end Zach Ertz. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson sent him an autographed football, and the Eagles sent him 120 tickets for him and his teammates to attend the team's preseason game against the Tennessee Titans.
"We miss Troy," Magee said. "Delaware's a small state, so just to have that camaraderie, it's a testament to who we are as a state and how we care about each other."
When Haynes passed away, high school across the state honored him by wearing their "Fight Like 4" shirts, and Woodbridge honored their former quarterback by holding up the No. 4 after a 27-0 win over Archmere.
Six years after his death, Haynes' memory remains strong. And people like Magee are determined to ensure that his spirit is never forgotten.
"You always try to remember him," Magee said. "That's the whole brand. You want to fight like four, like he did."
