The former defensive end was honored by Saints owners Tom and Gayle Benson and other executives, as well as coaches Sean Payton, Joe Vitt and Bill Johnson and general manager Mickey Loomis.
Advertisement
Some of Will’s teammates, including Steve Gleason – who has a degenerative muscle condition – were front and center.
Smith was shot eight times and his wife was struck in her legs, officials said.
Smith was shot to death a week ago after what appears to be a case of road rage.
In this handout image provided by the National Football League, former New Orleans Saints Will Smith poses for his National Football League headshot circa 2011 in Metairie, Louisiana. Hayes is now being held in jail.
Racquel Smith attended a Friday public viewing for husband Will Smith, still carrying her own wounds from the shooting that killed the former New Orleans Saints star on April 9.
“I came out today because this was a great man. And he did a lot for the city and we got to watch him every Sunday and look up to him”, said Lance Ural, from New Orleans, who was wearing a Saints T-shirt as he walked out of the building.
A fully loaded 9mm pistol was recovered from Will’s vehicle, police said, but Smith family attorney Peter Thomson has said that “at no time during this event” did Will “ever brandish or carry” the gun, and that he had a state license to carry it concealed.
Dozens of Will Smith’s former and current teammates and coaches joined Will Smith’s family at a public visitation for the defensive end.
Smith played for a Saints’ team that traveled like nomads from stadium to stadium after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Superdome. Then in 2009, he was defensive captain on a team that went all the way to the Superbowl and won. On either side, large video screens showed video snippets and photos of Smith on and off the field.
Guests can sign a guest book and prayer cards and make donations to Smith’s “Where There’s A Will, There’s a Way Foundation”.
Advertisement
Many more, including Saints quarterback Drew Brees, will be on hand Saturday for a private funeral ceremony. An investigation is ongoing and Mr Hayes has been detained. Fuller issued a letter to New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Friday asking that the NOPD be withdrawn from the investigation. “We will continue to follow the facts wherever they take us”.
