A few times a week in the offseason, Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka would hop on his Honda CBR motorcycle. When he was riding in New Jersey he would abide by the law and wear a helmet, when he was back home in Indianapolis he rode sans helmet because Indiana doesn’t require one.
This was standard operating procedure for Kiwanuka, but not any more. Not after his older brother, Benedict, nearly died in a May 28 accident when they were riding alongside each other.
“Being a football player I’m a risk-taker in general,” Kiwanuka said yesterday following an organized team activity practice. “I feel we took all the proper precautions to make sure we minimized the risk, but now I look at it, even if you do all the things right, the consequences of being in an accident on a motorcycle most likely are death. We’re blessed he wasn’t put in that situation.”
After seeing his brother involved in the frightening crash, Kiwanuka said he is through with his bike.
“I won’t be riding a motorcycle any time soon,” he said.
Kiwanuka, 27, and his brother were riding in Indianapolis when Benedict, 32, hit a car pulling out of an apartment complex. He was thrown 100 feet and hospitalized in critical condition. Mathias, coming up from behind, was able to stop his bike and attend to his brother, who suffered multiple breaks and fractures.
“He’s out of intensive care and hopefully we’ll get him out of the hospital pretty soon,” Kiwanuka said. “In the beginning, when it was touch-and-go, it was very difficult. It was tough to see and tough to go through. Now that we know he’s going to be OK — he broke a lot of bones but he’s going to make a full recovery — it makes it so much easier. I understand we’re still blessed to have him with us and to have him at full capacity at some point.”
Kiwanuka said he has been riding a motorcycle for about two years and believes the Giants did not know about a hobby most teams frown upon. Shortly after the accident he met with coach Tom Coughlin and said the Giants never said he must stop riding.
“It wasn’t something that anybody had to tell me,” Kiwanuka said. “You go through something like that you realize how much of a gift life is and how short it can be and to try to make better decisions.
“Watching that, and knowing what I have left here to do, not just in football but on this earth, it’s enough to wake you up to realize there’s better ways to have fun.”
After spending time at his brother’s side, Kiwanuka left Indianapolis Sunday night and yesterday was back at work.
“It’s tough to leave,” he said, “but knowing he’s going to be OK makes it easier.”