HOUSTON — Leroy Burrell is the former track coach at the University of Houston, an Olympic gold medalist and was once considered the world's fastest man.
He sat down with KHOU 11's Len Cannon to open up about losing his son to suicide. He spoke about the pressures his son, Cameron, was facing and how the tragedy has changed the way he coaches young athletes.
"I like to think about some of the things he did as a baby," Leroy said.
Cameron was the oldest of three boys who went from being an active, busy child, to becoming one of the nation's best sprinters, just like his dad and mom, Michelle, who both won gold at the '92 Olympics.
Cameron was even coached by his dad at UH where he was the NCAA 100-meter champion in 2018 with a bright future.
By the summer of 2021, Leroy said he and his wife could sense that their son was struggling, telling his mom he was tired and was done with the sport. Burrell said it was a perfect storm.
COVID kept him from training properly for the Olympics, combined with isolation, injuries, and perhaps the weight of expectations.
"It used to be, 'Cameron Burrell, Leroy Burrell's son,' or 'Cam Burrell, son of Leroy and Michelle.' And I used to cringe and say, 'Give him his own due,'" Leroy said. "Because he earned it."
He said that a desire to live up to the family legacy meant Cameron expected to win Olympic gold in his mid-20s, like his parents.
"My timeline was my timeline, his was his," Leroy said. "But I think in the process, that timeline was imposed on him and he felt a lot of pressure."
The pressure was amplified by injuries, which meant he wasn't always at his best.
"And if you miss the mark a couple of times, the pressure is actually multiplied, because this is your living and when you don't hit the mark, you take a cut in your standard of living," Leroy said. "And I think he was facing that more often than someone his age should."
On August 9, 2021, Leroy and Michelle got a phone call from their middle son, saying Cameron had been shot.
"We got in the car and we were just thinking, 'Please let him be OK, please let him be OK,'" Leroy said.
Cameron Burrell died by suicide at the age of 26.
"I just couldn't believe it," Leroy said. "I just couldn't believe it."
Leroy said he was overcome by disbelief, grief and guilt.
"What I kept thinking, what kept coming to my mind is, 'Where did I go wrong? Where did I go wrong? Where did I go wrong?'" he said.
In hindsight, Leroy said he now realizes his perception of mental health was shaped by growing up in the 70s, a time he said when mental health struggles were seen as a sign of weakness.
"And I used to always think, if you are an athlete, you don't have time for that," Leroy said. "You got to keep it together. That's what we do, that's part of the job."
"Have you changed your mind about that?" Cannon asked.
"Absolutely," Leroy replied. "Because these kids are delicate and fragile and have the struggles any normal person would have."
"How has it changed the way you coach now?" Cannon asked.
"I try and be a lot more sensitive to those issues," Leroy said. "I ask people how they are, I'm more of a hugger, and do a little bit more check-in."
Leroy said the loss has taught him lessons about what it means to be successful. To other parents, Leroy has this message: Think twice about pushing your kids to be great at everything.
"It's almost like, if you don't reach those marks or that pinnacle, it's like a feeling of failure. I think we need to teach kids how to manage and judge their success individually," Leroy said.
You can watch the full interview below: