AMHERST, Massachusetts (WBZ) -- Friends and former teammates of slain University of Massachusetts Dartmouth running back Marvins Antoine are remembering him as a role model and leader.
Antoine, 18, was stabbed to death early Saturday morning during an altercation in a Wendy's parking lot across the street from Mezzo Lounge in Providence, Rhode Island. One of his teammates was also stabbed but had what police said were "non-life-threatening" wounds. Another UMass Dartmouth student, 19-year-old Chukuwnonoso Uzoma Eze, was arrested and charged with murder.
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Orlando Delgado, one of Antoine's former teammates at Atlantis Charter School in Fall River, told WBZ-TV that Antoine was one of the first people to welcome him when he first arrived on the team.
"If I was being left out of anything, he always was the person to include me in sports or activities," Delgado said. "He made me feel welcome when I really was having a very hard time."
Delgado's mother, Ashania Chambers, remembers Antoine as a level-headed and respectful friend of her son's.
"My heart hurts for the young man, he was a very well mannered, liked child. Every time I've seen him, it was nothing but respect," she said. "He was like, to me, a big brother for my son."
Delgado added that Antoine was known to others as a peacemaker.
"Marvins was never the person to start anything. Even if the situation was out of hand, he would still try to diffuse it," Delgado said. "He was always the type of person to always have your back. He was super loyal."
Xavier Gracia, another former teammate from Atlantis Charter School, told WBZ-TV that Antoine set a high standard for the younger players on the team.
"He held me accountable, as a teammate, as a person," he said. " On the bus rides to games… our losses, our wins, he was like a role model to all the players."
Providence Police are still looking into what led up to the stabbing. Eze, who is not on the football team, is being held in Massachusetts until he can be brought to Rhode Island to face a murder charge.
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