Ella Bresee, the 15-year-old sister of Clemson Tigers defensive lineman Bryan Bresee, has died, the lineman disclosed on Instagram Thursday. She had been battling brain cancer.
Ella spoke to the Clemson team last week before suffering a setback. She was honored at the team’s game against Clemson, but she missed the contest after flying back to a hospital in Washington, D.C., which is near the family’s home in Maryland.
Bryan played in Saturday’s game against Furman and then traveled home to be with his sister.
“My beautiful sister Ella you amazed me every single day with the fight that you put up and how joyful you were constantly through this battle. Never did I think I would be sitting here today saying bye to you. I want to thank you for bringing happiness to not only me but so many people. You are the best sister a brother could ask for and I know for a fact heaven has gained a beautiful angel today, Love you forever and always Ella bear,” Bresee wrote in his Instagram post about his sister’s death.
The Clemson football team wore shirts Saturday in tribute to Ella.
A really emotional scene for #Clemson's Bryan Bresee (@bryan_bresee). He leads the Tiger Walk today with the whole team wearing "Ella Strong" shirts in honor of his sister's battle with cancer. Such a cool showing of support. pic.twitter.com/DL2Picqxab
— Mitchel Summers (@MitchSummersTV) September 10, 2022
They also shared a post on Twitter sharing love and support to the Bresee family.
Ella Bresee will continue to be a source of light and strength for this program and the entire Clemson community. Please join us in sending our love and support to Bryan and the Bresee family. #EllaStrong 🧡 pic.twitter.com/uoxuUf27p1
— Clemson Football (@ClemsonFB) September 15, 2022
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Wednesday that Bresee might miss the team’s upcoming game against Louisiana Tech.
“There’s a lot more important things than football,” Swinney said Wednesday. “He needs to focus on what he’s doing and [if] he’s ready to be back and ready to play, hey, we’ll be here. But right now, he’s right where he needs to be.”
