Barry Sanders et les joueurs NFL rendent hommage à Calvin Johnson

Les Lions connaissaient déjà la douleur de voir un grand joueur partir à 30 ans. Barry Sanders l’avait fait en 1998. Calvin Johnson l’a fait en 2016.

Mardi, le premier a rendu hommage au second sur Twitter.

« Un talent incroyable et rare, à la fois sur et en dehors du terrain, et je me sens chanceux d’avoir pu le voir jouer », a écrit Sanders sur Twitter.

L’ancien coureur de Detroit n’a pas été le seul à faire part de son émotion. Beaucoup de joueurs actuels y sont également allé de leur message. Le plus souvent, c’était pour exprimer tout leur respect à leur coéquipier ou ancien adversaire.

An amazing and rare talent both on and off the field, and I feel lucky to have been able to see him play. https://t.co/eSIk8iWr3M

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) March 8, 2016

MAN! Crazy to hear news about Megatron being done! So many great battles! So much respect for big #81! #Megatron pic.twitter.com/Em2nb7Fpju

— Patrick Peterson /P2 (@RealPeterson21) January 31, 2016

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— Eric Ebron (@Ebron85) January 31, 2016

One of my favorite match ups… Always looked forward to the competition. One of the greats @calvinjohnsonjr pic.twitter.com/L3FdEsqLQU

— Charles Tillman (@peanuttillman) February 1, 2016

I'm so happy for Calvin, to go out on his terms is exactly what he is; rare. Somehow I got to play 5 years with him and what he accomplished

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) March 8, 2016

When I signed with the Detroit Lions I met a young man by the name of Calvin Johnson Jr…a humble superstar who spoke with his actions not his words. After watching him during our first practice together I knew I was going to be witness to something very special. In the 4 years I was there I saw him evolve from really good to great to unstoppable. I can only describe it like a Super Hero realizing his Super Powers one day at a time until he realized he was there to save the city. CJ is a man of few words but I knew by how much he loved Detroit and by his work ethic I realized he embraced the responsibility of bringing pride to Michigan which HE DID time & time again. It was a pleasure to watch, honor to play with and joy to kick it wit you bro. You gave the game everything you had in every game you played and out worked every dollar you made. You are one of few shinning examples of how I will not only teach my kids to approach sports but how to approach life. I Never told you in person but this is how I saw you when we played together… ☆You stood like a Giant amongst Boys, toiled like a Peasant amongst Kings and Blessed us with your presence like a God amongst Men☆ You may be Megatron to the masses but you just CJ to me. Enjoy retirement homie! Love, Nate B #LionBloodForever

A photo posted by Nate Burleson (@nateburleson) on Mar 8, 2016 at 8:20am PST