Michigan State WR, Whose Fiancée Was Sh– & Grandma Battles Cancer, Makes Heartbreaking Admission

On Saturday night, when Michigan State’s Alante Brown swirled through Boston College’s defenders on a 63-yard kick return, he was playing for a lot of people. His teammates, yes… But more importantly for his grandmother and his fiancée, Arneka McReynolds, who is unresponsive in a Chicago hospital after being sh– in the head. The incident happened back in July, but he made sure to stay focused through it all because McReynolds wanted him to excel in football.

“Football is my safe space, and I know that I have an opportunity to go out there and make things happen for my family, for this situation, for her and myself,” he said last week. Brown and McReynolds have been together for nine years. They first met as kids at Simeon Career Academy in Chicago. Back then, he would play quarterback, and McReynolds invested her time in volleyball. They shared fond memories from high school, and hence, on July 19, the couple went back there for the Simeon alumni cookout. And later, they went to the shopping center parking lot near the Dan Ryan Expressway with a bunch of friends when the dreaded sh–ting took place.

Someone fired at the group, killing one person and injuring two others, including McReynolds. The whole incident took place right in front of Brown. Since then, he has been taking it one day at a time. “Just trying to grow as a person, to learn from that experience and making sure I do everything I can in regards to her, whether it’s football, school, life.” They had been living together ever since Brown moved from Nebraska to MSU, and after the incident took place, the player missed camp to stay with McReynolds. It was tough accepting that life had changed. “I’m playing for her right now.”

Truth be told, this should have been a fun season for him: The 24-year-old already graduated from Michigan State. He is also playing his sixth college football season.

He was born in Lansing but moved to Chicago with his mother. Yet, the player had several family members in Lansing on his dad’s side. His father has been incarcerated since 2000, but he is close with his grandmother, who is battling cancer. And his bright-colored mouth guard is his small tribute to his grandmother and McReynolds, as reported by Lansing State Journal.

The WR’s connection to Michigan State goes back more than five years. Mark Dantonio recruited him back in 2019, but it was simply not meant to be that year. Injuries were also a setback. Life rerouted him through prep school and Nebraska before he finally transferred to MSU in 2023. But during his Michigan State debut, he suffered a concussion and was carted off. He was back to play in the first half, but that had raised many questions about the program’s injury protocols. It prompted the school to make changes to how injuries were evaluated.

While life has been difficult lately, Brown has found a support system in HC Jonathan Smith, who hugged the player after his 63-yard return against Boston College. Smith also sees Brown as a great example in the locker room. “I think it just shows the maturity, the leadership he has, that he’ll do whatever his role is, whatever he’s asked to do at a high level.” It will be interesting to see what the player does next.