'ESPN E60': Chris Singleton on His Mother's Death in Emmanuel AME Shooting

In a new ESPN E60 feature, Charleston Southern College baseball player Chris Singleton recounts receiving the news the fatal shooting at the Charleston Emmanuel AME Church and shows that "Love is Stronger" in any situation where hate tries to intrude.

Where does strength come from? For some it comes from the toughness of being raised without a parent or from the toughness instilled by a parent with love being the underlying bond that strengthens the being. For Chris Singleton the evening he found out his mother, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, was killed in the fatal Charleston Emmanuel AME massacre, he began to learn that love can transcend hate in any situation.

Coleman-Singleton was a minister at the Emmanuel AME Church.

Singleton was forced to become the man of the house for his brother and sister after losing his mother to the shooting that left a total of 9 victims, according to a Post and Courier report.

In the report, Charleston Southern baseball coach Stuart Lake recounted some of Coleman-Singleton's most valuable advice.

"She told me never to be easy on these boys," Lake said according to the report. "She said, 'These boys need men. They've got boys all around them. They need a man to tell them how it works.'"

Aside from her time time at the AME church, Coleman-Singleton worked as a "speech pathologist and girls' track coach at Goose Creek High School," according to the report.

There is no doubt that she would be proud of the man he's become especially after his poised and inspirational media briefing following the tragedy (video below).

Singleton began by thanking the media and all of those who reached out to him, he relayed his condolences to the other families who suffered and also told them that things will get better despite the devastation.

Much of his comments were about moving forward and pressing on which is extremely mature for someone his age who had just suffered a horrible tragedy. In the Post and Courier report, Lake said that Singleton was more of a help to others than they were to him throughout the mourning process.

His high regard for Singleton continued as he told the media outlet that he sees a great leader in Singleton on and off the field. Singleton put his family first before focusing about his career on the field.

When asked about the positive social media hashtags that went up after the events, Singleton had this to say:

"I just say that love is always stronger than hate, so if we all just love the way my mom would, the hate won't be anywhere close to what love is."

The E60 episode rightfully highlighted this young man because of his ability to believe in the greater good. On June 17 of this year his world turned upside down and the E60 crew wanted to show that how one young man can spread peace and positivity in his darkest hours.

As you will see in the video below tears filled his eyes that are red from a lack of sleep from the news that shattered his family the night before.

In the holy city of Charleston and Singleton says he loves Charleston and that the residence both deceased, old and new have overcome a lot of bad things.

His teammate Cody Smith says he thinks baseball is helping Singleton cope after losing his mother. Singleton tells how religious his mother was without throwing it down the throat of others. She could sit at the edge of her and pray for hours according to his words.

Singleton first started out as a basketball player in High School but they shared a special bond when it came to baseball. Coleman-Singleton looked like a lively and vibrant woman from the video footage, especially when she took the podium at AME. Singleton's University is just seven miles from his home and his coach says that he showed incredible athleticism on his team. Kevin Wilkinson, Singleton's summer league coach says he's definitely a major league prospect and one of the hardest working kids on the team.

Eerily enough, if Singleton wasn't playing baseball the evening of his mother's death, he would have been attending church when the atrocity happened. Singleton answered the call himself and arrived on the scene confused after hearing that his mother was shot.

He says he cried so much that he couldn't even cry anymore and when he found out that there were 8 dead bodies he lost hope. He heard the words and he was shocked.

He says the way his mother went was terrible but if he thought about how she was killed everyday, he would ho insane. Singleton told a local news station that he already forgave the man that killed his mother and there was nothing but love in their family. He forgave Dylann Roof because that's what his mother would have done.

He didn't want Charleston to turn into Ferguson or Baltimore. Love is stronger than hate and that's what his city responded with. Charleston came together, all races united and the Confederate Flag was taken down permanently.

On June 30, five days after his mother's funeral, Chris Singleton made his way to a baseball field and was more nervous than he's ever been. He hits a single on his first bat and starts moving forward with his life.

Another touching and inspiring story from ESPN's E60 where people of all ages can learn from a young man who's gone through so much and still remains positive and still believes in love over hate.

Chris Singleton's Media Briefing

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