He has a tattoo on his left forearm that reads “Son of David.”
“I grew up in my dad’s arms. Wherever he was, I went with him,” 2023 undrafted free agent linebacker Diontae Johnson told The Post about his father, David, after the Giants’ training camp practice. “When he would walk to the store, I was there with him. I looked up to him. Whatever he was doing, I tried to do it with him. He was always lifting weights, so no matter what time it was, I was doing push-ups right behind him. He had a set of dumbbells in the basement. … That’s how it started.”
His life came to a tragic end far too soon in March 2020 when his father, David, died of a stroke at age 45. Donte was 18 years old.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Donte said.
David was found at home.
“Nobody knew he was home,” Donte said. “It just seemed like he was out there by himself. We just hadn’t heard from him in a while, which is just not like him.”
His father and mother, Makita Jones, had divorced eight years ago.
“We were expecting bad news because we were looking for his father,” Makita told The Washington Post by phone. “The worst news has now been confirmed and we told him that his father has passed away and is no longer with us.”
Donte and his brother Davion were there together.
“I was actually watching Ozark in my basement,” Donte recalled.
She remembers him yelling, “No, no, no!”
“He was angry, sad and devastated,” Makita said.
She comforted her son: “I held him like a mother would. I reassured him that he was amazing just the way he was, that his daddy was proud of him, that I was proud of him, and that he could still make him proud. He’s not lost, we know where he is, but it makes me sad when I think about him not being with us anymore. So I just want him to always know he’s with us and keep hanging on. There’s still work to be done.”
His father and grandfather fueled NFL dreams with flag football.
“It was hard for me to keep him on the right track and stay focused,” Makita said. “He wanted to communicate more with his dad. … His driving force was to make us proud. And before he left here, he felt like he hadn’t reached the heights to make his dad proud. So now that’s what’s driving him. … It was hard. It was difficult.”
Donte wasn’t able to speak at his father’s funeral.
“At the time, I couldn’t put words together to understand how I was feeling,” he said.
It will soon be time to honor him.
“After that, I got him a tattoo, and he’s been with me ever since,” Donte said.
He mustered the courage to give an emotional speech to his teammates at the University of Toledo about the hardships he had endured.
“How hard it was to accept his death, how I got through it and how I used it as motivation to keep going,” Donte said.
He broke down in tears when he called his mother.
“My son is a very proud person, so for him to show weakness in public was very shocking,” Makita said.
Donte earned a degree in mechanical engineering and grew to be a leader in his family, which includes sisters Dali and Tamia, and stepmother Shameeka Johnson.
“I knew my dad would want me to be happy and to keep working hard at whatever I do,” Donte said.
After a year on the practice squad, he’s now trying to make his NFL dream come true. He intercepted a deflected pass on Thursday.
“He’s shown great instincts,” Bobby Okereke told The Post. “He’s a true professional from his preparation to his mindset and he’s a great athlete. He has all the intangible qualities you need to be a great linebacker in this league.”
Even before his father’s death, Makita encouraged Donte, calling him “David’s son.”
“It’s written in the Bible. … His father is still king,” she said. “He accepted that and it was a statement of his commitment to do it in honor of his father.”
Donte has a chain he made in memory of his father.
“I always make sure I have it in my locker or on game day,” he said.
And what if the Child of David joined the team?
“That means he’s certainly made his father proud,” Makita said.
