CHARLOTTE — A former UNC-Charlotte 49er football player was shot during a night out in Uptown, but he’s not letting that moment sideline his life.
We introduced you to Ardy Holmes back in 2021 as he trained future athletes while recovering from a different injury. Now, Channel 9’s Hunter Sáenz sat down with him to share his plans to come back from this injury.
“I’m seeking to see if there’s a greater purpose to this stuff man,” Holmes said.
The West Charlotte grad and former 49ers football standout has more than 40 staples in his leg after being shot twice.
Police say it happened early on July 12 near 7th Street in Uptown. Holmes says he was walking his girlfriend to her car after a night at Encore nightclub when two men came out of nowhere.
“Tried to snatch my chain off of me, then we kind of went for a little spin, next thing you know my back is to the parking lot then I hear two gunshots -- bang bang! Pow pow! And I just fall to the ground,” Holmes said.
He says the two guys ran off with his jewelry.
The father of two rushed to the hospital and then went right into surgery.
“I could look at the situation a thousand different ways but I’m only looking at it one way - that I made it through,”
Active in his community, he trains kids on this field, and he plans to turn this latest injury into a lesson for them, too.
“Using my pain for gain, for inspiration and motivation,” he said.
Although injured, Holmes is already thinking about how he can help kids in his community. Next week, he says he will be there in his wheelchair on the football field with other coaches doing a mock combine for boys six to 13.
There is also a GoFundMe page to help his family during this time while he’s out of work. You can help by clicking this link.
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