<p>In his first interview since losing his son, Rickey Smiley is sharing some of his family&#8217;s speculations surrounding the death of <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/rickey-smileys-son-brandon-smiley-dead/?_gl=1*u81z1h*_up*MQ..*_ga*NTgzMjgxNzAwLjE2Nzc3Nzk2NDk.*_ga_V2HX8YP3XL*MTY3Nzc4MzkwOC4yLjAuMTY3Nzc4MzkwOC4wLjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brandon Smiley</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Rickey Smiley Believed Brandon Was &#8216;Doing Better&#8217;: &#8216;He Has Just Got Baptized&#8217;</h3>
<p>During an appearance on the <em><a href="https://www.today.com/today/amp/rcna73068" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Today</a> </em>show, Rickey recounted the January morning when he learned about the news. The radio personality specifically shared that Brandon&#8217;s girlfriend contacted him, and she said that the 32-year-old &#8220;had OD&#8217;d.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;His girlfriend called&#8230;She was crying, and she said—in her words—that he had OD&#8217;d.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Upon hearing this news, Rickey immediately prepared to hop on a flight from Dallas to Birmingham, though he received news of Brandon&#8217;s death while heading to the airport.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I got a phone call on why way out the door from Brandon&#8217;s younger sister who lives in Atlanta. [She said] that he had passed. She was crying.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Co-host Craig Melvin then proceeded to ask if Brandon had &#8220;a history of drug abuse,&#8221; and Rickey confirmed that his son had been &#8220;struggling&#8221; with addiction.</p>
<p>He also noted that he and Brandon&#8217;s mother &#8220;made several attempts&#8221; to try and get him to a rehab center. Additionally, Rickey noted that the family &#8220;thought [Brandon] was doing much better,&#8221; as he had &#8220;just joined the church.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We thought that he was doing better. He had just joined the church. He had just got Baptized probably a month before he passed away.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Rickey then said, &#8220;He used, and it killed him.&#8221;</p>
<p>However, he&#8217;s sure to note that the official cause of death is pending, and the family hasn&#8217;t received a toxicology report yet.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;This is just what we&#8217;re speculating according to his girlfriend, who found him unresponsive.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">He Shares A Message To Parents: &#8216;We Have To Have A Conversation&#8217;</h3>
<p>After opening up about Brandon&#8217;s passing, Rickey proceeded to share a message to &#8220;other parents who have have a child who&#8217;s dealing with addiction issues.&#8221;</p>
<p>Smiley pointed out that, as he believes parents &#8220;are having the conversation&#8221; about drugs with their kids, the true battle is &#8220;getting the kids to listen.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We have to have a conversation. I think the parents are having the conversation. The problem is getting the kids to listen to what the parents are saying. The parents are having these conversations.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>He also divulged that the family &#8220;had been talking to [Brandon] for years&#8221; about his addiction before noting that, regardless of the children&#8217;s upbringing, drug addiction is a very real potential risk.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We just assume that if you&#8217;re in a good school district or a gated community and that these kids are not doing drugs.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Rickey reinforced this statement by adding, &#8220;You don&#8217;t have to be in the hood to succumb to drug abuse.&#8221;</p>
<p>Finally, he wrapped up the interview by reflecting on his late son, noting that he was &#8220;a great kid.&#8221;</p>
<p><amp-instagram data-shortcode="CoY1OrRgnHW" layout="responsive" width="600" height="600" data-captioned></amp-instagram></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">We continue to send our prayers and condolences to Ricky Smiley and the rest of his family.</p>
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