NFL Player Injured In Miami Gardens Shooting To Join WVU Staff
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FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey, who was shot last year in Miami Gardens while visiting family, will join West Virginia University's staff as a student assistant coach.
WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said Bailey will also enroll as a full-time student to complete his bachelor's degree in multidisciplinary studies.
Bailey was shot twice in the head while sitting in a car with family in November, 2015. Bailey, his cousin Antwan Reeves and Reeves' two children -- a boy and a girl ages 5 and 10 -- had gone to pick up a cousin when a car pulled up and started shooting, according to family members. Bailey was shot twice in the head, his cousin was hit multiple times while attempting to shield the children.
Bailey underwent extensive surgery and continues to heal. Last month the Los Angeles Rams placed Bailey on the reserve non-football injury list.
Bailey says while his playing career isn't over, the opportunity to return to WVU gives him more time to heal.
Bailey played at West Virginia from 2010-12, compiling 3,218 receiving yards and 41 touchdowns.
In a statement released by WVU, Rams coach Jeff Fisher says the Rams "couldn't be happier" for Bailey and "wish him and his family the best as they step into the next chapter of their lives."
Bailey, who attended Miramar High, was a third-round pick in the 2013 draft out of West Virginia, where he was part of a prolific wide receiving tandem with Tavon Austin, whom the Rams selected with the eighth overall pick that year.
Bailey has started three games each of his last two seasons. In 2015 he had one touchdown for which he was fined because in celebration he used the ball as a pillow and laid down in the end zone.
Bailey was among five Rams receivers who took part in the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" gesture before a game December 2014 as a show of solidarity for protesters in Ferguson, Missouri.
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