Tennessee Titans punter Brett Kern is having a difficult time believing reports that have surfaced in the wake of the death of former teammate Rob Bironas.
Bironas, 36, was killed late Saturday in a single-car accident in Nashville. The Tennessean reported that motorists in two different vehicles had encounters with Bironas before the crash. One woman claimed that Bironas gave her an angry look and forced her to let him pass. A group of college students said Bironas threatened them and attempted to sideswipe their vehicle.
"It's not him at all. It's tough to hear everything coming out," Kern said on the eve of Bironas' funeral, according to ESPN.com. "I'm really trying not to pay attention to it because I want to honor him, the legacy that he had here -- the man that he was, the father that he was, and the husband that he was, the family guy that he was.
"So I want to honor that. A bunch of guys do. So the details will take care of themselves, everything will come out. Tonight and tomorrow, it's just honoring Rob."
Kern has been taken aback by the witness accounts that depicted a road-rage episode prior to the deadly crash.
"It's just hard to comprehend all that taking place," he said. "I know there were calls about it and everything. But knowing Rob, that's not his character, that's not who he is."
Bironas was released by the Titans in March after nine seasons with the team. Kern -- who played with Bironas for six seasons -- spoke with the kicker last Friday after a tryout with the Detroit Lions.
"He was so excited that it went well," Kern said. "I told him I was proud of him. That's the last thing I told him."
Longtime NFL kicker David Akers drove to the scene of the crash after speaking with Bironas himself last week.
"It's just a feeling like something's missing," Akers told USA Today Sports. "Obviously there are a lot of questions that his friends and I'm sure family would like to have answered."
