In the days and weeks immediately after 9/11, the New York Jets and their quarterback helped the NFL determine the time to mourn and the time to heal.
This Was No Accident
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Jets QB Vinny Testaverde and many Jets had physical healing on their minds. Still licking their wounds from a season-opening 45-24 home loss to the Colts, Testaverde was getting treatment in the training room on a players' day off. With a road game against the Oakland Raiders five days away, the television was on when news broke that an airplane had crashed into the North Tower at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
"We were only 15 miles from where our practice facility was at Hofstra on Long Island to the city," Testaverde said. "All of a sudden, one of our players said, 'Hey, there's another plane,' and they can see it on the screen behind the World Trade Center, the Twin Towers. And we all just started watching this little spec on the screen get closer and closer. And then all of a sudden, you see an explosion. The second plane flew into and crashed into the second tower, and then at that point -- we all realized this was no accident."
At 8:46 a.m., a hijacked plane crashed into the North Tower. Then at 9:03 a.m., a second hijacked plane hit the South Tower. Testaverde, who was Brooklyn born and who attended Sewanhaka HS in Floral Park, called his wife and told her to get their children out of school. At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower collapsed. And at 10:28 a.m., the North Tower collapsed. While New York was the epicenter of the terrorist attacks, a plane also crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m. and brave passengers helped take down a fourth plane that was believed to be headed towards the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
Thousands of Americans had been killed. Testaverde remembers a "scary, unnerving, concerning" time full of disbelief and sadness and anger as his family -- including his mother, sisters and extended families -- gathered at his house. There was also uncertainty.
The Jets returned to work Wednesday, but their hearts were somewhere else. After morning meetings, they began to practice under the direction of first-year head coach Herman Edwards.
"You could tell that the guys were not focused on what they had to do that day," Testaverde said. "The pads didn't sound the same, it was a very light practice as far as the physicality part went. It was just very eerie. Coach Edwards called off practice early and for good reason."
All Testaverde could think about was the victims and their families in addition to friends and families who were still hoping to hear from loved ones. With his community torn apart, he went to church and prayed. With a desperate search for any signs of life at Ground Zero, it became clear to Testaverde that this was not a time for football.
"I didn't sleep good like most people probably that night," he said. "And I made a decision that I was not going to play that week, that Sunday, which our team was going out to California to play the Raiders."
The Right Decision
Testaverde woke up early the next morning and huddled with Edwards and GM Terry Bradway. While the NFL had not formally decided on whether games would be played on Sept. 16, Testaverde informed football leadership that his mind was made up.
"I had a meeting with both of them and told them this is bigger than all of us," he said. "I am not going to go out and play in the game this week. You can fine me, you can bench me, you can cut me. It's just not the right thing to do this week. I believe that wholeheartedly that we should not be playing football this week."
Shortly after that meeting, Testaverde told his teammates that they should mourn those people who lost their lives and support the families that needed them. While some players initially wanted to take a stand against the terrorists by playing, there ultimately was unanimity.
"It was a unanimous vote that came back that we all decided we were not going to play -- it was the right thing to do," Testaverde said. "They [Edwards and Bradway] took that information to our owner, Woody Johnson. Woody Johnson supported what the players voted on, and he told the league the Jets would not be playing that week and if the league decided to play – we would be taking a forfeit, which was unheard of and what a great thing for our owner to do. And 25 years later, I'm still proud of the fact that we were able to make the right decision -- not just the players but the head coach, the GM, the owner, very proud of all those involved."
A Great Reminder
When player reps from each team got on a call later that night, Jets C Kevin Mawae and Giants DE Michael Strahan were adamant that this was not a time to play and asked their peers to do that same. On Sept. 13, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the NFL postponed all Week 2 games. With the morale low for rescue workers and first responders at Ground Zero as they frenetically tried to find signs of life, NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik asked if Testaverde would visit.
"When the World Trade Center was being built, my father was a construction worker and he actually worked on those buildings," Testaverde said of his late father, Al, who as a cement mason used to take Vinny on his summer jobs. "When I was leaving that day, there was a piece of granite and I just grabbed it off the ground and I took it with me and I thought this would be a great reminder to bring back to share it with my teammates, to share it with my family. Every time you look at this, it can be a reminder of one -- to appreciate what we have and don't take it for granted."
After displaying it in his locker, Testaverde took the granite home, cracked it into three pieces, and gave one piece to each of his children. The granite reflected the resiliency and volunteerism that the United States prides itself on. People from all walks of life coming together to find survivors amidst untold devastation and rubble. When the NFL resumed play on Sept. 23, Testaverde walked into the visiting locker room in New England and saw two posters on the wall had head shots of police offers and firefighters who had lost their lives on 9/11. About two hours before the Jets' 10-3 win over the Patriots, he saw the name Ronnie Kloepfer and quickly realized it was his former Sewanhaka HS teammate.
"Days after 9/11, we thought it was time to mourn," he said. "That we lost some loved ones, it was a time to mourn and be with those who lost loved ones. Week 2 after 9/11, we all felt like hey it's time to heal and part of that healing is get back to football, bring back some excitement, bring some joy and some distraction for a few hours to our country, to our fans. Every player felt the same way, so we were excited to get back although there was still looming over our head that what happened on 9/11. But we felt like we needed to get back and start that healing process."
