NFL star Shaquil Barrett and his wife, Jordanna Barrett, are reflecting on the death of daughter Arrayah two years after her drowning.
“It’s always a battle. It’s always a struggle. It don’t get no easier but it’s something that we’ve been managing, dealing with, just talking with each other and talking to NFL families, talking to friends, the kids and making sure they’re doing OK,” Shaquil, 32, said on the Sunday, July 20, episode of Good Morning America, noting that the pair “keep moving on, healing in a proper way.”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker noted that he and Jordanna, 32, didn’t have a “basic step” when it came to pool safety.
“We didn’t even have a gate that was protecting the pool, so that was the main thing. We had door sensors but we got annoyed [by] the kids going in and out all the time, so we ended up turning the door sensors off,” he said.
Shaquil explained that the morning of the incident in 2023, the gate leading to the pool and the door was unlocked — and the door chimes were off.
“We just didn’t know that the life vests and the flotation devices made it a false sense of security for the babies, thinking they could swim now because every time they’re in the pool, they have the life vests on, life jackets on or flotation device,” he added. “We’ve been doing that all the time now.”
Shaquil noted that he and Jordanna have been “preparing for the worst case scenario” by getting their kids up to speed with pool safety. (Shaquil and Jordanna are parents to sons Shaquil Jr., 13, Braylon, 12, and daughters Aaliyah, 10, Allanah, 17 months and Amaiah Marie, 1 month.)
“Most importantly, most drownings happen during non-swim times,” Jordanna added. “It’s important to have all those safety layers before they’re actually in the pool and leading up to them being in the pool.”
Good Morning America noted that some tips parents can follow include: having a safety gate that is locked and latched, a camera that alerts if a child is outside and having alarms on all doors. The outlet also encouraged parents not to leave toys in the pool — something Jordanna agrees with.
“I think a key too, is to put all swim toys away,” she said. “I think that brings children to want to go to the pool, to want to have fun and they see all the fun things. So making sure that those things are put away so that it takes that distraction from them, is really important.”
Shaquil and Jordanna have since started their own organization, Arrayah Hope Foundation, to honor their daughter.
“Reach out to us, reach out to any drowning prevention organization,” he said, “and I’m pretty sure they can lead you [in the] right direction.”
For more vital, life-saving information on pool safety, see Bode Miller’s tips and visit Coverstar’s website during Water Safety Awareness Month.
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