OU's David King finds family support after mother's death

BY ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
Monday, December 24, 2012
12/24/12 at 4:38 AM

NORMAN - David King knows his mother was smiling during Oklahoma's graduation day.

She watches over him in the good times and the bad. The defensive end works hard to make her proud on a daily basis.

It's been two years since he had to make funeral arrangements for his heroine. The only child in a single-parent family, David King lost Gladys King after she battled illness for months before she died at 52.

His loving aunts and cousins surrounded him with support during that tough time in February 2010. His OU teammates and coaches were there for him.

There was another group that lifted him up. It was the family of King's best friend - Jeff McVaney, whom he met while attending Strake Jesuit prep school in Houston.

Their bond has blossomed over the years. The McVaney Christmas card this year is a family portrait that includes King.

"They've been huge," King said. "You can call them an extended family, but they are my family. They support me as a part of their family and, for that, I'm thankful for them.

"They've become a huge part of helping me become the man I am today."

King, the recipient of OU's prestigious Don Key Award, will play the final game of his college career against Texas A&M in the Jan. 4 Cotton Bowl.

McVaney met King when both were freshmen playing football at Strake Jesuit. King had never played before - "my mom wouldn't let me," he said with a smile - and everything was new.

"He showed up and I thought, 'this guy is huge,' " McVaney said. "We became pretty good friends. We had chemistry together and played on the same church league basketball team."

McVaney laughed while talking about how sweet Gladys King was. But he added she also put up with no nonsense.

"In the spring game (during his freshman year), he got mad and threw his helmet on the sidelines and his mom came down to the front of the stands and started screaming at him," McVaney said.

She let her son know that he wasn't raised that way, King said.

"That's the kind of lady she was," McVaney said. "She was awesome."

As the high school teammates drew closer, King became a fixture at the McVaney's house. Gladys King became close friends with parents John and Stacy McVaney and their other children Katie and Thomas.

David King had an uncle, Phillip Gray, who was a father figure. When Gray grew ill in 2007 and only had a few days left, he met with John McVaney.

"He said 'I don't think I'm going to make it,' " said John McVaney, recalling Gray's final words to him.

Gray asked McVaney if anything were to happen to Gladys King, would he step in and help raise David?

"We were both crying and it was very easy (to say yes)," John McVaney said.

King grew up in Houston's tough fifth ward. His mom pushed him to excel academically, and King went through a program that helped low-income students get into private schools.

The two lived in a house filled with aunts and cousins, and Gladys King was the only one working. But she always found a way to provide.

"It's something you don't realize as a kid. I just went out and played with my friends," David King said. "You don't see the struggle because you're not mature enough to. As I got older and in high school, I saw the struggle in her face and tears in her eyes. It was sad."

Joy came when King was awarded a football scholarship at Oklahoma.

"She was more excited than I was," King said. "To be able to know I was going to get a college education and know nothing was going to come out of her pocket for anything, it was a huge burden off her back. She always wanted me to go to college."

David King was in Norman for two years when his mom's health quickly started to turn bad. On Feb. 12, 2010, Gladys King died.

King worked on arrangements and even spoke during his mother's funeral.

"He was unbelievably strong," Jeff McVaney said. "I can't imagine how that would have been with my mom. He handled all that stuff and he was so strong through it; I remember losing it at the funeral when he got up and spoke about his mom."

There are still tough days.

"Every May 30, her birthday, if I'm in Houston, I go to her grave and put flowers down," David King said. "Mother's Day and the day she passed ... those are hard ones."

Senior Day also was difficult. He looked around and watched his teammates celebrate their final home game with family.

The strong 6-5, 286-pound man was almost in tears.

"It was hard to see all the other seniors out there with their parents," he said. "They had their mothers and their dads with them and I just knew that my mom couldn't be out there with me."

The McVaneys, though, joined King on the field for the Don Key presentation and during his senior introduction.

While King is quick to express love and appreciation for his relatives ("I have a great immediate family," he said), the McVaneys have taken him under their care.

King didn't have a home to return to after his mom died, so he moved in with the McVaneys. He has his own room. They have attended nearly all of his games, which isn't easy at times because of conflicts such as sons Jeff and Thomas' football and baseball contests at Texas State, or now Jeff's minor league baseball schedule.

If King needs a hug, advice or even a little discipline, John McVaney is there.

"He's our kid," John McVaney said. "I would battle for him like I would battle for my own. And I have."

King is a success story. He has his human relations degree and the love of two immediate families. He is going to chase his dream for an NFL career.

King keeps his mother's phone number in his cell phone. It's a reminder that she's always there for him.

"I know she's looking down and smiling," he said.

OU FOOTBALL: FINDING FAMILY SUPPORT

Sooners up next: 7 p.m. Jan 4

Cotton Bowl

TV: KOKI-23/5

Radio: KMOD fm97.5, KTBZ am1430, KITO fm96.1 Original Print Headline: Like one of their own

Eric Bailey 918-581-8391
eric.bailey@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

OU's David King (right) and Stacy McGee wrap up TCU's B.J. Catalon during a game in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this month. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World

The McVaney family poses for their 2012 Christmas card in Norman. From left, Oklahoma senior David King, Katie McVaney, Jeff McVaney, Thomas McVaney, Stacy McVaney and John McVaney. Courtesy

Oklahoma senior David King makes cookies with members of his adopted family — Thomas (left), Katie (middle) and Jeff McVaney. Courtesy