By Billy Watkins
He was sitting in the rain when the text dinged my phone the other day.
Brad Gaines was visiting with his friend Chucky Mullins. He shared that they had a great conversation, that he was thankful to connect with him again and, at times, to just sit with him.
He wrote: “Last night I was watching TV and ESPN was showing the 30 for 30 on the decades of SEC football and I saw your segment on Chucky. How ironic. I thought you would like to see, 35 years after his passing, that his is still the prettiest gravesite and headstone in Russellville (Ala.).”
Gaines has made this journey 105 times. He drives from his home north of Nashville — three-and-a-half hours one way— three times a year: On the anniversaries of Chucky’s injury (Oct. 28), his death (May 6) and on Christmas.
His wife and four children try their best to understand.
On each trip, he loads his cleaning supplies and heads out about 6 a.m — except on Christmas. He spends the morning with his family before leaving. During the drives, he sometimes plays music. Other times, he just drives and thinks. He allows himself one break each way — a stop at the Buc-ee’s near Huntsville.
He has driven through sleet and snow.
He’s had engine trouble, flat tires. But nothing deters him.
“You’d think it would get easier after 105 trips,” Gaines wrote in the text. “Still tough. Every visit is like the first.”
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As many of you know, and a new generation is hopefully learning, fate or circumstances or whatever you choose to call it brought Gaines and Chucky together at the 3-yard line on the north end of Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on a sunny afternoon in October 1989.
Gaines, a fullback and receiver for Vanderbilt, lined up in a wingback position to the right. Chucky was playing safety. Gaines ran a seam route, but because of the coverage Ole Miss had deployed, he bent the route toward the middle of the field. Right at Chucky. Gaines appeared to have a sure reception.
Chucky launched every ounce of his 170 pounds into the back of the 225,-pound Gaines, successfully dislodging the football. Gaines bent over, trying to catch his breath. He has said it was one of the hardest hits he took in his collegiate career.
Chucky lay motionless, paralyzed below the neck. He died 20 months later due to complications from the injury.
During those months, they became friends. Gaines became an Ole Miss fan. He was accepted by Rebel coach Billy Brewer and the players as one of them.
And as much as anyone, he has remained loyal to Chucky, his memory, their connection and their friendship. He has helped keep Chucky alive in many ways.
Gaines and I became friends because I covered the game that day for “The Clarion-Ledger.” I was the one who informed him postgame that Chucky would probably never walk again. In that tiny locker room, most of the Vanderbilt team heard me say it and froze in silence. Gaines was shocked. He kept saying, “Oh, no.”
“I know it’s not my fault,” he told me years later. “But it still doesn’t take away the compassion. I know I’m not guilty of anything but it doesn’t take away the guilt.
“Of course, you can’t question what the Lord does. The whole story would be different if it wasn’t me and wasn’t Chucky. I’m white. He’s black. I was heavily recruited out of high school. Chucky was not.
“If I hadn’t gone to Vanderbilt, I would’ve signed with Alabama. But I wanted to stay home and play with my brother Chris at Vandy. If I had signed with Alabama, I would be just a guy from Nashville who went to Alabama. None of this would have happened. The Lord does things with a purpose — and tragedy is sometimes part of that purpose.”
Gaines helped fund a movie about Chucky called “It’s Time.” It was filmed in Jackson and Gaines was happy with the final product. Its post production and release were delayed during the Covid madness, but Gaines is confident it will wind up in movie theaters or on a streaming service.
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Gaines believes God is still working His purpose through his and Chucky’s friendship.
He is the father of Riley Gaines, a well-known activist against trans women competing in women’s sports. An All-American swimmer at Kentucky, Riley’s plan to attend dental school changed during the NCAA championship meet in March 2022.
She tied for fifth in the 200 freestyle event with Lia Thomas, a trans woman from the University of Pennsylvania. Thomas later won the 500 freestyle.
Riley didn’t criticize Thomas. She actually praised Thomas for working hard. Riley’s displeasure was with the NCAA, which permitted male-born athletes to participate in women’s sports and the fact that she had to share a locker room with Thomas, whom Riley said still had male genitalia at the time.
Since then, she has fought against it through radio, TV and personal appearances. But her campaign comes with a cost. She’s received death threats and travels with a security team. She’s been bashed on social media and even criticized by President Trump in April when she called him out for appearing to be Jesus-like in an AI-generated image on his Truth Social account.
“We talk all the time,” Brad Gaines told me in an earlier interview. “It’s tough on her. It’s hard. But I also remind her that convictions are what you stand for no matter what.
“I tell her, ‘God chose me to be the one Chucky hit that day. The Lord has chosen you to fight for what you believe to be right.’
“As a father, I’m tremendously proud because she spoke when no one else would say anything. I just think when God chooses someone as part of His plan, even when it’s difficult, you have to do the best you can with it.
“That’s what we’re both doing.”
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