Friesz recalls the lighter side of 'Tez

When John Friesz played quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks from 1995-98, he liked to bring in his young son, Hunter, to the practice facility on Tuesdays, a day off for the players, but also a chance to get some extra film work.

Also there was massive defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, a Seahawk from 1990-2000.

“When (Hunter) was about 4, he’d come through the locker room, and Cortez would throw him into the laundry cart,” Friesz recalled Tuesday, hours after learning of his teammate’s death at age 48.

This was the laundry cart that sat in the middle of the locker room, and players would throw their practice gear in there at the end of the day to be laundered. Fortunately, on Tuesday mornings, it was empty.

“Hunter would get thrown in there and Cortez would push him around like a little go-kart,” Friesz said. “I don’t think they ever sanitized it, but it was empty at least.”

Kennedy, the story goes, liked to frequent North Idaho for hunting.

Friesz, an avid hunter, took Cortez duck hunting one time — in Seattle, in a farmer’s pond one afternoon, where he had permission to hunt.

“I remember duck hunting with him one time — he’d never done it before,” Friesz said. “It was pretty funny because he showed up that morning in an old bright blue Seahawks jacket. And I’m looking at him like, ‘Dude, you don’t own any camo at all? Because you can’t wear that.’ Luckily we were able to hide behind the blind a little bit, but he was so darn big, I’m sure parts of him were sticking out.”

Friesz ran into his old teammate last year in Seattle, on a Saturday before a Seahawks home game. He told Kennedy the invite was always there for him to come to North Idaho and deer hunt, or bird hunt, but they were never able to make it happen.

“He was a great teammate,” Friesz said. “He always had a smile, always joking around. Everybody liked him. Sometimes All-Pro, or future Hall of Fame guys, think they’re better than they are, but they’re not. They’re not real fun teammates to be around. But that’s not the case with Cortez at all.”