Infant Son of Buccaneers' Matt Bryant Passes Away

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Tampa Bay Buccaneer kicker Matt Bryant and wife Melissa suffered the unimaginable early yesterday morning, when their 3-month-old son Matthew Tryson Bryant died in his sleep. Coach Jon Gruden announced the sad news following the team’s practice on Wednesday, informing reporters that the baby — who went by Tryson — "just didn’t wake up this morning." In a statement issued later in the day, Matt, 33, said the couple were "overcome with the amount of support" they had already received from community members since their son passed away.

"Tryson enriched our lives for the short time that he was with us and we will never forget his smile. We know Tryson’s death has deeply touched the community and we appreciate the love and prayers from our Buccaneers fans."

A spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says that there was nothing suspicious about the death; Melissa was getting the couple’s six children ready for school when she went to wake the baby and found him unresponsive.

Along with his parents,Tryson is survived by his siblings Daniel, Jacob, Joshua, Madison, and Tre, 2 on Monday. The family asks that any memorial contributions be made inTryson’s name to March of Dimes, 405 North Reo Street, Suite 105,Tampa, FL 33609.

Sources: ESPN; TBO.com; Tampa Bay; ABC Action News

Thanks to CBB reader Jennifer.

Comments

How terribly sad. My prayers are with this family during this unimaginably difficult time.

- UggaMugga.com on September 25th, 2008

Oh my gosh, how absolutely tragic, I cannot begin to imagine how Melissa must have felt when she couldn’t wake her son. Absolutely awful, my thoughts and prayers are with the family.

- Chloe on September 25th, 2008

What a tradgedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the family. This has got to be just devastating.

- brooklyn on September 25th, 2008

This is just horrible, such terrible and tragic news. I am not familiar with the family as I am from the UK, but I will keep them in my thoughts today. I don’t know that there’s really anything anyone can say in a situation like this that can convey how awful it must be for the parents, but I’m sure it’s some small comfort to them to know that many people are thinking of them. All my love and best wishes to the whole family.

- phoebe on September 25th, 2008

Praying for them!

- Tara on September 25th, 2008

So sorry for their loss

- Beth on September 25th, 2008

Wow.. just wow..

How terribly sad! The family is in my thoughts!
<3

- Rayan on September 25th, 2008

I cannot even begin to imagine what they are going through…I am so sorry for their loss. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

- CTBmom on September 25th, 2008

That is just the absolute worst news I could ever hear. Having a daughter only a month older than his son, SIDS has terrified me since the day I learned I was pregnant. I couldn’t imagine what that family is going through. I wish them all the best during this time.

- Me on September 25th, 2008

How terrible…I don’t even know what to say

- G on September 25th, 2008

So terribly sad, my heart breaks for their family. All I can think of is my little one napping away upstairs in her crib, and I think I’m going to run up and get her right now, and hug her just a little tighter.

- Heather on September 25th, 2008

Very sad, my thoughts are with this family.

- sleekraven on September 25th, 2008

ugh – how devastating. SIDS is terrifying.

- meghan on September 25th, 2008

how terrible! my heart goes out to them.

- Anna on September 25th, 2008

This is absolutely terrible. Not the first celeb (or any) baby to die from SIDS (there was the one of the former singer of the Christian group, i forgot its name) But, there are actually couple of thigns parents can do to avoid them. I looked them up after I read a similar article and apparently not many parents know that there are things to help minimize the possibility of SIDS. There are some good tips on these links:

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=prevent+sids&meta=

- Molly on September 25th, 2008

few highlights to my previous post:

have the baby sleep on its back
keep the room cooler (not overheated)
no smoking outside or inside or during pregnancy
breasfeeding is beleived to have positive effect on preventing SIDS
and some more

This is not universal plan, and Im sure there are parents who followed this and still baby died, but it is believed to help. HOpefully it will save at least one more baby from dying form this horrible thing !!

- Molly on September 25th, 2008

Really brings home the fragility of life. My best wishes to the entire family during this impossibly difficult time.

- Amanda on September 25th, 2008

Oh Good Lord, I can’t begin to imagine. How sad. Thoughts and prayers to the family.

- Kate on September 25th, 2008

My heart goes out to this family and the precious son they lost.

- Allison on September 25th, 2008

i am so, so deeply sorry..i understand the pain of losing children and i wouldn’t wish it on anyone. keeping this family in my thoughts.

- M on September 25th, 2008

After having a relatives baby die of SIDS last year, when I had my 4th baby in June 2008, (my other kids are 6, 4 and 2) I bought an Angelcare Bebe Movement and Sounds Monitor. It registers even the smallest detection of shallow breathing and an alarm goes off if all movement stops for 20 seconds. I cannot express what wonderful sleep I have gotten over the past 3 months becuase I am not constantly running into my daughters room to check if she is breathing. It is a wonderful monitor (from $80-$120)and will give you such a peace of mind. Especially when you here stories like this too often.

- angelbaby33 on September 25th, 2008

My heart absolutely aches for them.

- Amanda on September 25th, 2008

I am so sad to hear this news. My thoughts and prayers are with this family.

- Erin on September 25th, 2008

My absolute worst nightmare.

I am so sorry for the whole family xxx

- kate on September 26th, 2008

God bless them and their angel in heaven.

- Jeannie on September 26th, 2008

I cannot imagine my daughter not waking up!!! Heartbreaking!!! May the Lord guide them through this difficult time…

- jillybean on September 26th, 2008

I think I worried myself to death over SIDS. My first son was stillborn at full term so ‘death’ was something I always feared on my two subsequent sons. I had a bassinet next to my bed and my babies would sleep next to me. I also would take any precautions I heard from doctors etc. You can NEVER be too safe!

- Silvia on September 26th, 2008

Here’s some info about SIDS that may surprise you (it did me). My heart aches for any family that loses a child.

http://www.ageofautism.com/files/wyeth79.pdf

- Shocked & scared on September 26th, 2008

To the commenter who is using the Angelcare Bebe Movement and Sounds Monitor, I know that you are trying to be helpful but by the time those monitors go off, it’s too late for SIDS babies. Basically, it’s like a switch going off. SIDS babies cannot be revived, even if efforts start within seconds of an alarm. Take if from one who knows. These monitors are very useful for babies who suffer from sleep and breathing disorders where interventions can definitely help them when the alarm sounds–but it’s not the case for SIDS babies. When the switch is shut off–that’s it–there are no known interventions.

- BeenThere on September 26th, 2008

My peditrician has known 2 different famililes that used similiar monitors and both went off when their child stopped breathing and both were given CPR and ended up being perfectly fine afterwards. One is now 18 months and the other I think is almost 3. I can imagine that it must have helped many other families.

- angelbaby33 on September 26th, 2008

what a nightmare. I have four kids and I was a paranoid mess when they were infants. My youngest goes into a very deep sleep, where she becomes unresponsive to attempts at waking her for as long as 20 seconds with shallow breathing and it still makes me insane every night. I check on her repeatedly for signs of breathing and she is 4.
Those monitors mentioned above ARE a great thing to have…if you can get to the baby in time there is always the chance of resusciation, whereas you’d never have a clue otherwise. Whoever knocked it, that wasn’t the wisest comment to make to a parent who is trying to keep her wits about her.

- Lisa on September 26th, 2008

From reading the above comments, I don’t think anybody “knocked” the monitor Lisa. As far as SIDS is concerned, it is NOT preventable. There are risk factors involved, but no conclusive evidence as to what causes SIDS….just as a heart attack is NOT “preventable” (although there are risk factors, ie smoking, etc.) You can still have a heart attack even if you thought you were “healthy”. Babies that die of SIDS could not have been revived and its not the same as waking a baby who has sleep apnea.

- Nan on September 28th, 2008

Truthfully, as it relates to the monitor, I think anything that gives you greater peace of mind is helpful.

What heartbreaking news regarding Tryson, my heart goes out to the Bryant family.

- chatty cricket on September 28th, 2008

I too lost my son of SIDS on Christmas morning of 99. I sympathize with the family and I hope they know their little angel is with them always. It is very sad to know what and how they are feeling at the moment because I was there almost 9 years ago.

- Billie on September 30th, 2008