I’ve had a ton of e-mails (and seen on message boards) asking what happened to Keon Lawrence’s sister per the story that appeared Thursday regarding Lawrence’s upbringing. Unfortunately, Lawrence’s sister, Kiyah Nelson,  is in the gang life as well and deeper than Lawrence ever was. Lawrence says he has a hard time catching up to her and the two don’t talk very much on the phone. When he’s home, he said he tries to keep her close to him and mentor her, but she’s pretty far gone.  In some ways she had a  far tougher  life than Lawrence, but a lot of that stuff regarding her was omitted from the story because I couldn’t verify it (and the story wasn’t about her).  

Nelson is 17.

Thanks for all the praise for the story. I think this was an important story to tell. Keon Lawrence is one of the most personable players on this team and one of the nicest young men I’ve ever met. For him to be so candid about his upbringing and life was special. I think he too wanted to show the world that no matter how bad life can seem, it’s never a dead end.