Bless You Boys mourns the loss of one of its own last week.
The Bless You Boys family recently experienced a devastating loss.
On Monday, June 23, Brayden “Brady” James McAtamney passed away in his sleep at age 28, according to his obituary . However, we did not discover the news until the Friday after, when Cam Kaiser shared The Athletic’s Chris Vannini’s tweet memorializing Brady.
As you have no doubt experienced at times, the social media age is a strange one, full of beautiful connections that would never have been possible before, and very difficult moments where the presence of someone you’ve talked to and even worked with regularly, suddenly vanishes from your life. Getting blindsided by news of the passing of someone you know well on social media feels a bit cruel and impersonal.
As you’d expect, this was pretty crushing news to us. From the years when Brady was a staff writer here, and even after his sportswriting career began to flourish in Tennessee with Main Street Clarksville, and then with the Macomb Daily covering local sports for the past few years, he was a regular contributor in our group chat as we debate issues around the Tigers, baseball, sports and life in general. He became particularly close to many of our staff. He was the type of guy who didn’t take friendship and family for granted, and the people who know him best know that he was the type of guy who was the first to reach out, especially if you needed to talk about something, and even if you didn’t know you did.
Brady went through quite a bit in his young life, and was really flourishing professionally and personally over the last few years. It was wonderful to see him coming into his own. We can only wish he would’ve had more time, and offer our sincerest condolences and prayers for peace for his family and friends. He made a lot of them in his short time with us.
Writing this feels very much like the funeral experience of trying to say the right thing when you don’t know what to say, but as I’m sure Brady would agree, the only important thing is to say something, and make sure people you’re close to know how you feel about them.
Hug your people. Make the call. Send the text. As this fine remembrance by Brady’s friend and former colleague, Russell Vannozzi, explains, he had a lot to teach in how to live a full life with heart.
Really sad to hear the unexpected passing of @bradymcat . He and I would DM about college football a lot. He worked really hard covering Austin Peay and would send me stats for the old stats column. Way too young. Life is precious. Rest in peace.https://t.co/deQFxvOAvb
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) June 27, 2025
https://www.desmondfuneralhome.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=43077547
“Simply put, Brady had an incredible superpower to attract people because of the amount of love he had to offer,” his obituary notes. “That love will live on forever through the people who got to be a part of it. Through the challenges, the rewards, the laughter and the pain, he loved incomparably and unconditionally — a trait which will forever be his legacy.”
Below, members of the Bless You Boys staff share their thoughts on our lost friend and colleague, Brady. We also planted a tree in his memory, and you can too by following the obituary link.
Brandon Day:
This has been hard to process and I’m still a bit in shock, I’m sure. We were just chatting with Brady last weekend. Being far apart in age, and me being the boss here, Brady and I weren’t super close but he made an impression immediately as a very bright, thoughtful guy who was a lot of fun to talk baseball and writing with, and someone who kept his friends and family close to heart at all times.
We had some really good conversations about the work and his goals early on, and it felt great to see him doing well when he moved to Tennessee to work the local sports beat there. I keep thinking about a few long chats about that and encouraging him to spread his wings and take the opportunity, knowing that he could eventually move on and back closer to home and family in the Detroit area. He made the leap and was well on his way to a fine career in the field he loved.
He’s been a regular in our work chat even after he moved on professionally and just an extremely likeable young man with a lot of wit and passion for the things and people he loved. It’s just so hard to process when someone that young dies suddenly. I went through it so many times in the 90’s when I was young, and it feels even more unfair now as an older guy.
Just praying for peace for his family and everyone who loved him. RIP Brady. They better have the Tigers on in heaven.
Peter Kwasniak:
Brady was a really good dude. I can’t give a higher compliment than that. I will fondly remember the conversations we had over the years, from Tigers talk to our favorite animes. Was really happy for him to be chasing the opportunity he had at sports writing. He was a very talented writer who had a true passion for sports. I’m glad he got to see his Tigers kicking butt this year.
He’ll be missed, but he’ll be remembered by me forever.
Cameron Kaiser:
Learning of Brady’s passing gutted me. It’s impossible to comprehend that someone you were just chatting baseball with last weekend is no longer with us. The community that’s been built at Bless You Boys is something that I cherish for many reasons, but the relationships are chief among them.
It feels somewhat odd shedding tears over someone you knew exclusively through a computer screen, but that’s a testament to the kind of dude he was. The passion he had for the Tigers was awesome. We’re basically the same age, and anyone who can enter adulthood and stick by the Tigers through the last ten years has some serious strength. But based on his wonderfully written obituary, for all the love he had for his favorite teams, it paled in comparison to his love for his family.
If you are reading this and were close to him, I’m praying that you can find genuine peace and love in spite of how unfair this is. It flat out sucks to lose Brady, and I’m going to miss him deeply.
Zane Harding:
This is a loss in my day-to-day social circles unlike I have experienced this early in my life outside of my family, and my birthday falls just nine months after Brady’s. It’s absurd that he’s gone so suddenly and so soon. It’s wrong. Brady had a huge heart, deep ball knowledge, fiery ambition in sportswriting… Brady was an absolute bro in our circle to me from the jump, and I hope that this team can win a World Series in his memory.
I’m simultaneously deeply heartbroken and deeply thankful for everyone in the room and the time we still have together. RIP Brady. I don’t think I can look at life quite the same way again after this one. And to Brady’s family and friends: I am deeply sorry for your loss. This is just the impact he had on me in my young years in a sportswriting circle; I am thinking about you and praying for you as you survive this loss.
Ashley MacLennan:
Brady was a wonderful person, first and foremost. He was absolutely passionate about sports, and specifically Tigers baseball, and it was always wonderful to watch games with him in the main BYB chat. While we were not close friends, I truly enjoyed the time I spent talking with him about our shared love: baseball. You can just tell when someone lives and breathes their adoration of a team and a game through thick and thin, and that was Brady. He was smart, funny, and a beloved member of our team.
We will miss him tremendously. The shock hasn’t even worn off yet, we were just talking to him in the group chat the day before he passed. His responses to our last roundtable were lingering right above as we gathered together to share our memories of him. It doesn’t feel real or fair that he is gone. I hope his family is able to find peace in knowing how many people Brady touched.
Adam Dubbin:
The news hit me very hard when I first received it. His final message in our Bless You Boys Slack channel was him wishing me a happy birthday. It didn’t seem odd at first that we hadn’t heard from him in a few days — it was common for him to come and go at times — so when we all found out on Thursday afternoon, it was an absolute gut-punch.
Despite being nearly half my age, Brady and I shared a lot in common, from our passion for sports and writing to our mutual love of music. Obviously, we were both huge Tigers fans on the sports side, while our tastes in various genres of tunes — particularly hip-hop, and more particularly the Beastie Boys and MF DOOM. He knew to use ALL CAPS when you spell the man’s name.
Even though we never met in person, he was a great friend and colleague. He will be greatly missed, but will remain in our hearts here at BYB.